Star Wars: Hades Wing
by Slade1987
Summary: In the aftermath of the battle for Bilbringi, an Imperial pilot is interrogated aboard the Republic flagship Home One. He tells a story of a secret unit formed in the shadows of the Imperial Fleet by Grand Admiral Thrawn himself.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: This story involves a cast that is of my own generation interacting with characters and events from the original and expanded Star Wars Universe. I've used what I know of the Star Wars timeline to create my own story that works as best as I can manage within that timeline. Many of the events that I mention are from the X-Wing series interpretation of the original trilogy so some items may not match up entirely with original canon.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

The glow lamp flared on in front of me, blinding me for a moment. As my eyes adjusted I saw my interrogator had taken their seat across from me, the light prevented me from being able to tell whether it was a man or a woman, or some other gender entirely. I looked down at my cuffed hands resting in my lap; leaning forwards I put them on the table and smiled.

"So when does the torture start?"

The figure's posture shifted uncomfortably, nervous I supposed, guess I wasn't important enough to warrant a veteran. The silence, and the annoying light, dragged on for several minutes as my would be interrogator looked over a datapad.

Then they finally broke the silence.

"We don't torture our prisoners, we aren't your Empire."

Her voice was attractive at least; I hoped the rest of her looked alright. "Well then, I suppose I have nothing to fear and I doubt we have anything to discuss."

She leaned forwards, I still couldn't see her face thanks to the light, you couldn't have everything I suppose.

"You're Garin Durives, commanding officer of Hades Wing; we have questions pertaining to your operations prior to the Empire's downfall."

I chuckled; it was a nice voice, strong, yet pleasant and musical at the same time. Maybe I would enjoy this, I leaned forwards as much as I could, being secured to a chair can make that difficult.

"You're right, you aren't the Empire, you'd have tried to scare me by now otherwise."

I saw the subtle shift in her posture again, she really wasn't used to this, what was the Republic thinking sending a child to question me?

"We might not be your Empire, but at least we don't destroy planets to prove our points."

Her voice was bitter, angry, and I winced, oh boy. This had just taken a turn for the worse.

"Alderanian huh, I'm sorry for your loss. I truly am, that was a case of excessive force and even I won't deny that it was wrong, atrocious. Tarkin went too far."

I heard her draw in a breath as she leaned away from me.

"Let's start with the questions now."

I snorted. "You can't seriously think I'm going to answer your questions."

She shrugged easily and I could almost hear the smile as she spoke.

"You're a prisoner of war with no hope of rescue; I would think that cooperating would be in your best interest."

Well she had a point, besides was there really a reason to not answering? As far as I was concerned the Empire had ended with Thrawn's death, now it would just degenerate back into the petty bickering that had ruled before Thrawn's appearance. There was no longer an Empire to remain quiet for, just egotistical men and women with delusions of grandeur.

"Turn off the light."

"Excuse me?"

I glowered. "You heard me, get that damned light out of my face."

There was a pause, then she reached for the glow lamp and the blinding light dimmed. That was much better, I smiled at her, she had a pretty face. A little young for me I supposed but not at all bad looking. Long honey colored hair tied back in a pony-tail with shimmering green eyes. Huh, not bad at all, at least I'd have something pleasant to look at. Ley'te and Daru would have scoffed at me for thinking about that.

She looked down at her datapad.

"How did Hades Wing come into being?"

"That's one broad question, by the way, you know who I am, do I get to have the pleasure of your name?"

She glared at me. "Stop karking around Commander. Tell me about the Russani campaign."

My insides iced over, did we really have to start there? I still had nightmares about Russani it had all gone wrong from the moment we'd arrived in system. I was not looking forward to this.

"Something wrong Commander?" She asked with a rather mean smile.

I was starting to dislike her, she knew what had happened at Russani, or at least that it was something that would trigger pain for me. Maybe she was more experienced than I thought, great.

"We'd just graduated from the academy, we thought we were invincible, the best of the best. It was a cake run to quell a war between the sectors poorly supplied and poorly organized inhabitants…."

**Approximately seven years earlier, onboard the Nebulon-B2 frigate **_**Viper**_**, en route to the Russani Sector**

Garin laughed with everyone else at the jokes and banter around him, and why shouldn't they laugh? They were the best and this mission was a laugh. All two-dozen of them had to take down a few local warlords with outdated equipment, bad supply lines, and poor organization. This was going to be a vacation compared to the academy. Garin stumbled as someone tackled him; he turned into the impact and spun to see Toth smirking at him.

"You're going to get hurt if you don't watch your back out there Gar."

Garin snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "Right, like these indigs have anything that can touch a TIE, besides that's why you're out there; to cover my rear."

He frowned, sniffing Toth's breath for a moment. "Are you drunk again?"

Toth saluted lazily, which was ridiculous since they were both the same rank.

"Sober and accounted for, I just passed a bottle around with some of the guys."

Garin sighed, shaking his head. "You're hopeless."

Toth opened his mouth but was cut short; everyone in the room was cut short, as a crisp, sharp voice sliced through the briefing room like a knife. The sound of two-dozen pairs of boots snapping to attention in the confined space was deafening, and the silence that followed was just as powerful. The two officers standing at the briefing room door let the silence drag on for what felt like an eternity before finally returning the salute and entering the room. The pilots all waited until they'd reached the holo screen before sitting, and when they did so it was all as one.

One officer stepped forwards. "I am Captain Siril; you've been stationed here as the _Viper's _new squadron and I expect you to live up to your academy records. Lieutenant Commander Adranis will now give you the mission briefing for this campaign."

The Commander stepped up and the holo screen flickered to life, showing the Russani sector, it zoomed in on a blue dot marked: SST 271.

"This is Space Station 271; it's a commercial interdiction and inspection station setup along the major trade lane into and out of the Russani sector. The _Viper _is carrying the remaining components to complete the station's construction. Once that has been accomplished the _Viper _and her squadron, that's us, will be tasked with protecting the station until its permanent squadrons arrive and take over from us."

He tapped his datapad and the screen changed again to show the whole sector again.

"There are two species indigenous to the sector and they are currently at war with one another, part of our task here is to quell this petty dispute and stabilize the sector. However we will not undertake that mission directly until the permanent squadrons arrive and we are reinforced."

Adranis eyed them all. "This is not the academy, you're all new pups and I don't want to see any funny stuff out there. It's your butts and mine on the line if you pull anything stupid. There are twenty-five of us including myself so we'll be dividing up into five squads of five each. I'll assign squads and squad leaders before we arrive. The data will be transferred to your pads so keep an eye on them. That is all."

The Captain stepped back to the forefront. "Pilots, you have leave until tomorrow, at 0900 Galactic Standard you will begin drilling in the simulators in shifts until 1200 you will be taken to hangar and given your craft. That is all, dismissed."

They all stood as the two officers left the room, Toth turned to Garin, smiling.

"Well don't they look pretty."

Garin snorted, "yeah I wonder if they really believe we need the additional training. We're Carida graduates after all, what the hell do we need the sims for?"

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Confident weren't you."

I shrugged, "we were fresh, we had no idea what real combat was like. I've never met a recruit who wasn't like that."

She nodded quietly, looking over her datapad. "According to the mission reports things weren't exactly as easy as you thought they'd be once you got there."

I nodded; shrugging again though inside I winced at the memory. "Yes, we joked that we'd all make ace by the time we were done."

"The sector natives were more prepared and better equipped than you thought though."

I sighed, smiling tightly at her. "Yes, and I suppose you know what else happened."

"Tell me anyways, I want to make sure we have the whole picture."

I couldn't help myself, I laughed that seemed to make her nervous good. She wanted the whole picture huh? Well that was easy enough to give her, in all the gritty details.

"We were coming up on the station…."

**Approximately seven years earlier, onboard the Nebulon-B2 frigate **_**Viper**_**, en route to the Russani Sector**

"Why are we sitting in our fighters again?" Toth grumbled over the com.

Garin smiled; this was Toth's fifth complaint in the last half hour. "Why don't you ask the Commander?"

"Nah, he doesn't like me, ever since I complained about Blythe and Harkness he's had it in for me."

Garin chuckled; they'd gotten their squad assignment and as luck would have it the two of them had been assigned to Adranis' team. Unfortunately they'd also been given Blythe and Harkness, two rich boys who looked down at everyone and anyone not up to their social standards, Toth and Garin fit that bill nicely. Toth had tried to complain of course, he always did, but Adranis had told him to shut up and deal with it like a soldier was supposed to, and after that had been particularly hard on Toth in the sims and everywhere else.

"Just think of it like additional training."

Toth groaned. "I hate training."

"Alpha flight report," Adranis' voice cut in.

Garin looked over his diagnostics, everything was in the green. "A-Two lit and green."

"Alpha three ready and waiting for some fun."

"Shut it Luixana." Adranis admonished Toth.

"Sir!"

Harkness and Blythe both reported lit and green, Garin didn't hear the other four flights queue up but he didn't have to, he wasn't in command.

"Thirty seconds until realspace." Came flight control's voice, Garin turned the volume down on his helmet to cut some of the static out.

Outside the hangar he watched as the ship dropped out of hyperspace, then the emergency klaxon went off in his helmet and he was grateful that he'd turned down the volume.

"Station 271 is under attack," came Captain Siril's voice. "All flights launch and engage."

"Alright gentlemen, this is it." Adranis sounded much less calm than Garin felt, which was odd. What was there to worry about?

He felt the clamp holding his TIE in place release and he accelerated out of the hangar behind Adranis' fighter, forming on his wing. Looking down at his sensor display he counted at least thirty hostiles attacking the station, which was good, more kills for everyone involved. Garin's eyes went back to the view screen as he followed in Adranis' wake. He could already see the light show flashing around the station, this would be fun.

"Hey look, they've got some nice wings there don't you think?" Toth chimed in.

Garin looked at his readout, R-41s, Z-95s, Razors, and Tridents, they all had shields and carried missiles provided the natives had armed them with missiles, but none of them could match the maneuvering ability or speed of the TIE Fighter, and the TIE Bombers in Gamma and Epsilon flight carried enough ordnance to counter any superiority in missile fire. This would be easy, his entire body coursed with excitement as the enemies broke off their attack on the station and headed reformed to face the oncoming TIEs.

"Alpha, Beta, and Gamma flights break and flank, Delta and Epsilon take center and use your missiles."

Garin pulled his yoke around and followed through with the order, a moment later his sensors showed the missiles from Delta and Epsilon sailing out towards their opponents, a few of the oncoming fighters loosed missiles of their own, but most scattered and dropped flares and chaff to divert the oncoming warheads. He swung back around, following in Adranis' wake just in time to see the first missiles hit their targets.

"Alright, all fighters take them out, bombers stay clear."

Garin didn't need anymore encouragement, he accelerated towards his selected target and opened fire, his lasers were absorbed by the shields and he spun away as laser and ion bolts spat towards him. He came around in a roll and was on his opponent's tail a second later, he opened fire with his dual lasers and watched in satisfaction as the shields buckled and the enemy fighter exploded as his shots hit the engines. He flew through the debris and turned to find his next target, his klaxons wailed and he dove, rolling to evade the missile lock. The TIE had no flares but it had chaff and he keyed his dispenser, the electro magnetic current was designed to detonate missiles before they reached their target and provided the missile hit the current before it hit the fighter it would work.

The missile warning died away and he stole a glance at his sensors to see the missile had gone wild. He selected the fighter that had fired at him and wheeled around to engage.

"Hey Garin I got your wing, how many you have so far?"

"One, about to nail another," Garin said tightly as he tried to line up his shot.

"Hang on, I'll bracket."

Green laser fire cut across his target's path and the fighter veered away in an attempt to evade Toth's fire, the maneuver brought him right under Garin's guns and he tore into the ships shields and then hull, lancing the cockpit directly. That was one pilot who wouldn't have felt a thing. With Toth on his wing he turned back to the rest of the furball. It was disastrously one sided as far as his instruments could tell, why had Adranis seemed so tense, these indigs didn't stand a chance against trained pilots. He found Adranis again and formed up with him and Toth barreling back into the heat of the battle.

"So how many did you end up getting at days end?" Toth asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Three and a half, that last kill I shared with Harth."

"Arusi?" Toth asked curiously.

"Yeah that's the one."

"Hah, you're lucky he didn't shoot you for getting in on his kill."

Garin snorted, sipping at his bottled water, "okay so he clocked the instructor during a bar fight. He's not a bad guy, besides they were both drunk."

Toth snorted. "Sure, and a rancor won't eat you."

Garin shook his head and looked out the view port at the station, now that the battle was over the _Viper _was just hanging in space besides the station, transferring the personnel and equipment needed to complete its construction.

"Do you know what we'll be doing next?" He asked.

"Yeah, we're going to be inspecting transports for the station; trying to intercept any contraband that the indigs might be using for their little turf war."

Garin snorted, "first we fly rings around them and now we get to play customs officers. Hell of a first cruise."

"You won't hear any disagreement from me." Toth said, eying his own water. "Want to go over to my cabin?"

"What's in your cabin?"

"My footlocker."

Garin was tempted to ask what was in his footlocker as well, but he already knew.

"Just one drink."

Toth feigned insult, "why I'd never imagine getting you drunk on duty!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Approximately seven years ago, in the Russani Sector, vicinity of Station 271**

"Well there goes another one." Toth said lazily

Garin snorted, he and Toth had been on patrol duty since that morning and it had been a long, boring day of scanning incoming cargo ships and transports. So far nothing unusual had been found which was adding to the boredom. Their squadron had been deployed in two man groups from each flight, leaving the remaining three pilots from each flight onboard the _Viper _which hung in space nearby the station.

"Grid two-seven-zero, we're detecting another convoy inbound on your vector."

"Copy that control, we're moving to intercept."

He swung around, Toth on his wing and watched as the newest wave of freighters were pulled from hyperspace by the station's gravity wells. It was a good sized convoy too, and they were all container carriers, two of them were pretty big. A lot of space in these ones, someone was expecting a big shipment.

"Alright Alpha element, they've acknowledged our hails, you are to move to inspect. Manifest lists agricultural machinery and mining equipment as the cargo."

"Roger control, scanning now."

He flew alongside the convoy, letting his scanners do the work as he drifted past them. The pass went smoothly, the weapons on the hulls were standard for their weight classes and within regulations and they were powered down as well. The cargo seemed to qualify as well.

"Hey Gar, I think we have something."

"Say again Three?"

"I think they've got maskers onboard, I'm getting flickers on my sensors."

Gar checked his own readings again. "I'm not getting anything weird on mine."

"Let's do another pass, you take port I'll take starboard."

"Copy that, control we are rescanning the convoy."

The response was quick and crisp, "reason?"

"Alpha Three suspects there may be maskers on board the convoy, we are bracketing and rescanning."

"Acknowledged, we are diverting Beta and Gamma elements to your position, interdiction teams are on standby."

Garin acknowledged and swung around for another pass on the convoy, Toth's fighter broke off and flanked the convoy on the opposite side, they proceeded slowly back along the length of the line of ships scanning each one carefully. He still didn't see any discrepancies in the scans but if Toth said he'd seen something he was willing to check it over again.

"Toth I go—"

"Oh stang, Gar break off! The containers are opening, we've got fighters coming out, and their weapons are hot!"

As if on cue Garin's weapon lock alerts began blaring, he spun the TIE over and punched his engines to the limit to get clear as the space behind him filled with laser fire. He stole a look at his scanners and saw the yellow blips turn red, there were smaller sensor blips moving out from the larger convoy ships and they were coming after him and the blue blip that indicated Toth's fighter.

"Command we have enemy fighters, I repeat we have enemy fighters, the convoy is hostile!"

"We have them on sensors, those are not indigenous combatants, I repeat you are not engaging indigenous fighters. Rebel X-wing and Y-wing fighters are engaging you, get clear and reform with other flight elements."

"Toth you copy?"

"I'm gone man; they're just taking pot shots at me right now, moving to join with Gamma element."

"Roger, moving to join with Beta element, good luck."

"You too, kick some Reb tail."

Ten minutes later Garin was breathing heavily and watching the last of the Rebel ships jumping further in system. They'd taken a beating; Adranis was dead, killed when the four Rebel capital ships had jumped in. Two bulk cruisers, an old dreadnaught, and an escort carrier had come in to support the convoy. None of the big ships, caps or freighters had been destroyed. So whatever else the convoy had been carrying was now in-system along with the fighters and cap ships. It had all been going so well for the past week and now this happened. The _Viper_'s engines were gone, repairs were being made but there was no way for her to have full maneuvering back, Captain Siril had moved her in closer to the station for added protection.

Amazingly the station itself had received very little damage, its gravity well generators hadn't been destroyed because the station commander had the sense to turn them off; thus allowing the Rebels to escape, but also saving the Imperial forces from further beating and they had taken a beating. Alpha flight was down to just Toth and himself, and they'd lost eight others including Adranis. For all their trouble they'd killed nine Rebels and damaged several others so it wasn't all one sided; but the enemy had a lot more fighters to throw at them. The enemy pilots were much better than the indigs had been as well, Garin's confidence was shaking, and he was beginning to understand Adranis' case of nerves. What the Rebels were doing here was anyone's guess, intelligence hadn't reported any Rebel presence in the Russani sector, but now there definitely was.

"All surviving vessels return to the _Viper _for debriefing."

"Copy that command, Alpha Two heading in."

The survivors staggered back to the frigate, battered, exhausted, and terrified.

**Present, interrogation room aboard Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One,**_** Bilbringi Shipyards**

"You weren't expecting any Alliance activity in the area?"

"The Captain and Commander said nothing about any Rebel activity in the system so it was a real shocker for us, and they caught us completely by surprise. I still don't know where the Rebel capital ships came from. That convoy stunt of yours was also very impressive."

She smiled at me tightly, accepting the compliment. "I don't know the details, but the natives of the Russani sector decided that you were a more important matter than their blood feud. In exchange for support the Alliance agreed to send in a fleet to break the Imperial forces in the area."

"You nearly succeeded." I chided with a smirk.

She nodded, "I know, but the tactics used by the remaining forces were rather creative, I believe we have you to thank for that."

"Well not entirely, Siril had a large part to play since he had the rank to make my tactics viable."

"Siril listened to your suggestions?"

I shrugged as best I could with the restraints. "He didn't know what else to do; it wasn't like we had many choices…."

**Approximately seven years ago, aboard the Nebulon-B2 frigate **_**Viper, **_**Russani Sector**

"Ensign I don't think this is a viable option for us." Siril said, covering his eyes tiredly.

"Sir with all due respect we don't have a force that can compete with the Rebel forces that slipped by us; they out number us at least three to one."

He scowled; Garin took a deep breath preparing to further defend his plan.

"Fine, fine, Ensign I will tell you this because no one else knows aside from my XO and the communications officer. The _Avenger _is en route with reinforcements, but they're not going to be here for five days. Do you think your tactics will buy us that time?"

Garin considered for a moment before nodding, at the very least his tactics would make the Rebels think twice about the composition of the forces they were facing.

"Yes sir, I think my ideas will help us stall the Rebels until the _Avenger _arrives."

Siril continued to stare at Garin for a long moment before sighing. "Alright, I'm giving you a free hand to do what you see fit, also you've just made Lieutenant. I want you in command of our remaining pilots."

Garin was taken aback, he hadn't expected that one. "Sir, I don't think I'm qualified—"

"Shut up Durives, I don't have anyone else. Adranis was my only experienced pilot and he got blown up by those cruisers. You've got a good head on your shoulders and have the guts to come to me with these hair-brained schemes of yours so you're now the squadron leader."

"Thank you sir," Garin said hesitantly, saluting, he wasn't sure how much of an honor it really was, they'd already lost ten of twenty-five pilots. With loses like that he wasn't sure how much longer he'd have a squadron to command.

"With your permission I'll begin preparing our equipment; will you speak with the station commander on my behalf?"

Siril nodded, waving Garin out of his cabin. "Oh Lieutenant," Garin turned to see Siril's grim expression. "This had better work or we'll all be dead."

"I hope it doesn't come to that sir, the _Avenger _would be awfully lonely if we weren't here to greet her."

The Captain snorted and waved Garin out again, shaking his head. "You're cocky pilot, good luck."

"So let me get this straight, the Captain is letting you play with our craft in the hopes you'll pull a fast one and scare off the Rebels?"

Garin shrugged, watching the mechanics going over the remaining TIE Fighters and Bombers, adding the equipment he'd specified.

"He wasn't happy about it."

"And on top of that you're now a lieutenant? Why do you get the promotion?"

"Because he was willing to risk his neck and talk to the Captain Luixana, stop complaining."

They both turned to see Harth approaching them, Toth smiled. "Don't hit me."

Harth glowered at the shorter Toth. "Shut it, Lieutenant, I have a request."

Garin still wasn't used to being addressed so formally but he managed not to just stare blankly.

"What is it?"

"I want to be transferred to the bombers; one of the others can take my fighter."

Garin frowned, "any particular reason?"

"I have more experience with a bomber, and I looked at the modifications you're making and I like them, I think I'll best serve the unit by commanding the bomber unit."

Garin looked at Toth for a moment, he was pointedly looking elsewhere, Garin looked back up at Harth.

"That will be fine, find one of the bomber pilots who is willing to make the switch and you're welcome to go ahead with it."

Harth saluted, "sir, thank you sir."

He spun around and walked away, Toth leaned over next to Garin.

"Wow, he didn't clobber us."

"Shut up Toth, I'm not in the mood."

"Rebel forces are retreating; I repeat the Rebels are falling back."

Captain Siril's voice cut across the command circuit. "Congratulations Lieutenant, your antics seem to be working."

Garin smiled, though it wasn't a pleased expression. Yes, the additions he'd had made to their ships had surprised the Rebels. TIE Fighters didn't normally carry missile pods, and Bombers usually didn't have four lasers. The additional weaponry slowed down their craft noticeably but it gave them added punch against the Rebels and the indigs. Granted they'd still taken a beating these last two days. Losing an additional six pilots and their craft to the Rebels; it was a war of attrition and there was no way they could win. Thankfully the Rebel cap ships had kept at the boundaries of the combat zone. Too cautious to get close to the station and its concussion missile and proton torpedo launchers. The weapons weren't standard, they'd been extra kit that the _Viper_ had been carrying with it and after some bickering the station commander had agreed to mount all thirty four weapon launchers and their armaments on the station. It was a slap on job, but they worked and they'd already claimed the life of one bulk cruiser and damaged the dreadnaught as well as pummeling the Rebel fighters which had helped the Imperial pilots immeasurably.

"All flights, return to the _Viper_, we'll get some rest while we can and get ready for the next attack."

Garin turned his fighter around and began the familiar trip back to the boxy frigate, her missile banks and turbo laser batteries had been of great help as well, though the Y-wings had concentrated a lot of their firepower on the frigate and the _Viper _was showing signs of the damage. Parts of her hull had been holed and there were places were she was completely dark in sections that had lost power. Siril refused to give in however, and that at least emboldened those serving under him; and since Garin's modifications and tactics had thus far worked splendidly they'd developed a close relationship despite the disparity in their rank and age. As his TIE docked, Garin slipped his helmet off and leaned back in his cockpit, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. The Cockpit smelled of sweat, the helmet, though hot at least filtered out the smell. He opened the overhead hatch and climbed out, it was time to catch a shower while he could.

**Present, interrogation room aboard Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One,**_** Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So using your modifications you were able to survive."

I eyed her coldly, there were several rather unpleasant things I wanted to call her but I refrained.

"We didn't survive, by the fifth day there were only five of us left."

"You still managed to do a disproportionate amount of damage, not only with the modifications you performed on your ships, but also your tactics, hiding in the sensor shadow of the station and frigate, letting the Alliance pilots pursue you into the firing arcs of the station. You even managed to knock out both bulk cruisers and heavily damage the dreadnaught. It was very impressive."

I continued to stare at her, ten names running through my head, silent testament to the fact that my tactics had not been enough.

She looked down at her datapad again. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the pilots that survived were yourself, Toth Luixana, Harth Arusi, Kalan Reath, and Matrin Sele."

"That's correct, by the fifth day we were all that was left and we'd lost our confidence entirely after watching so many of our comrades' die. We didn't expect to survive long enough for the _Avenger _and her task force to arrive."

"Tell me about that last day Commander."

I smiled at her coolly, she really wanted to make me relive every moment of this.

"We were taking a breather while we could…."

**Approximately seven years ago, aboard the Nebulon-B2 frigate **_**Viper, **_**Russani Sector**

"Here's to the survivors." Toth said somberly.

"To the survivors," Garin and the other three pilots echoed in the same depressed tone. They all raised their glasses and tossed back the last of their drinks.

Kalan eyed the empty glass quietly. "You know, I never expected to end up like this."

"How did you expect to end up?" Harth asked quietly in his usual laconic baritone.

Kalan shrugged with a smile, "on a tropical beach somewhere with scantily clad women fawning over me and my every whim."

Matrin snorted, "that would be a lot of blind women."

That brought a series of chuckles from everyone but Harth who scowled. "You two are too easy going; we're all that's left."

Matrin grinned, "exactly, and you've got to be the crummiest audience we've ever had eh Kal?"

Kalan nodded agreement, "yeah, I've seen oil paintings smile more than you Harth."

Toth chuckled, pouring another round of drinks for everyone. "Come on, drink up, I don't want all this stuff going to waste when the _Viper _goes bang."

"You know normally I'd have you all thrown in the brig for this kind of behavior."

Despite the alcohol they all managed to get to their feet and salute crisply, Captain Siril waved the salute aside.

"No need, we're all dead men so it doesn't really matter what we do. Luixana I hope you have another glass."

Toth smiled, tossing the Captain a spare glass. "Sir yes sir, this is some Chandrillan Ale that will make your ancestors rise up guaranteed."

"Good, I could use a kick," he raised his glass. "Gentlemen, to the _Avenger_, may she blow our enemies to hell."

They all drank, the _Avenger _might be too late to save them, but at least they had the consolation of knowing she'd hunt down and destroy the Rebels who would be responsible for their deaths.


	3. Chapter 3

**Approximately seven years earlier, in the Russani Sector, vicinity of Station 271**

Garin's fighter hung in space, around him Toth, Harth, Matrin and Kalan all floated in their own craft. He and Toth had the only fighters left; the others were all flying in bombers.

"Flight leader, we have them on our sensors, here they come."

There was no fear in flight control's voice; he was simply resigned just like the rest of them to the fact that they couldn't beat the Rebels. It was a strange feeling Garin mused, it wasn't despair, more like acceptance he supposed. The damaged dreadnaught dropped into view and began maneuvering to engage the _Viper_ all around the blocky capital ship X-wings, Y-wings, and the myriad of craft used by the indigenous flyers popped into space as well. They wouldn't have the five remaining Imperial pilots on their sensors, as they'd been doing the past few days Garin and the others were hiding in the sensor shadow of the station. Though the Rebels weren't nearly as stupid as the indigs; they'd figured out pretty quickly what the game was and knew to wait for the Imperials to move. The indigs weren't that patient. They charged in with weapons blazing, the station opened up first, its missile banks sending volleys of warheads into space, moments later its laser and ion batteries opened fire at extreme range.

Garin watched as a handful of the indigs winked out of existence and smiled grimly. At least they were taking some of the bastards with them.

"Let's go get them." He said into the squadron channel.

"Right behind you Gar, happy hunting, see you soon." Toth said cheerily.

"Moving to engage," Harth said stoically, his bomber moving out from the stations shadow.

"We're on your wing Diamond One." Came Kalan's voice.

Garin frowned. "Diamond One?"

"Yeah," said Matrin, "because he's as hard as one, and about as talkative."

"Right, Toth want to shoot them first?"

Toth chuckled as he followed on Garin's wing. "Nah, the odds are bad enough as it is."

"Agreed," Harth said calmly as his bomber loosed its first volley of missiles.

"I'm so glad that we all agree that you shouldn't shoot us!" Matrin said, Garin smiled, he actually sounded annoyed.

"That dreadnaught is moving in on the _Viper_ think she can handle herself?" Kalan said worriedly.

Garin stole a look at his sensors. "I hope so, the Captain doesn't have a whole lot left in her though, she's pretty shot up."

"So is the dreadnaught," Harth stated.

Garin smiled, despite everything Harth's simple and direct manner made things seem so much easier even in the middle of something as hopeless as this. He fired a burst of laser fire into his target and had the satisfaction of watching the shields buckle and the hull melt under the attack. He was saving his four missiles for the Rebel fighters; they were much more dangerous than the indigs. A burst of laser fire shot past him and he rolled, reminding himself that just because they were poorly trained didn't make them harmless. He'd be damned if he was going to get killed by one of these fools, if he was going to die, it would have to be a cap ship or a Rebel pilot that took him down.

His sensor showed his pursuer vanishing, he smiled. "Thanks Toth."

"No problem, want to dust my tail now?"

Garin pulled his control yoke back and looped over, Toth's fighter sped beneath him and a moment later the pursuing ship followed suit. He opened fire and tore into the top shields, the fighter rolled away, hull intact but Toth at least was safe for the moment. He formed on Toth's wing and followed him into the oncoming Rebel fighters as they finally joined the fight. Switching to his missiles he set them to staggered dual launch and flipped his reticule over the nearest Y-wing and waited for his target lock to chime, he pulled the trigger, one missile launched, and then the second one fired. The first missile hit the Y-wing's shields; the second punched through the weakened defensive screen and blew the burly craft to pieces. Toth and Garin blew through the debris field from their kills and found themselves locked in combat with a trio of X-wings.

"This is Captain Siril, Lieutenant Durives do you read?"

"Copy Captain," Garin managed through gritted teeth as he pulled his fighter through a series of evasive maneuvers in an attempt to get clear of the two X-wings that had picked him up.

"It's been an honor serving with you, but I'm afraid that I won't be present to see you through this, I've transferred the ships logs to the station, if it survives people will hear about our bravery. Good luck."

The channel went dead; Garin stole a look at his sensors and watched as the blue blip that indicated the _Viper _shifted course, and a moment later collided into the red blip of the Rebel dreadnaught.

"Does anyone have a visual on the _Viper_?"

"Kalan here, she's gone, the dreadnaught is hulled too, the station is finishing her off. Siril had one heck of a send off."

"Roger that." Ice gripped Garin's insides as he fought for control over his voice. "Regroup at the station when you can, we'll cover it from direct attack for as long as possible."

To his relief he received four confirmations, everyone was still in one piece for the time being. Though if he couldn't shake his two friends then he might not be for much longer. He rolled out from another burst of laser fire and spun his fighter around in an attempt to come in on the flank of his opponent. The first X-wing made it past him before he could fire but the second wasn't nearly as lucky; he triggered one of his two remaining missiles and then fired with his lasers. The missile hit the shields and the laser fire buckled them, piercing the hull and detonating the craft.

He used his speed advantage to outrun the other fighter, rocketing through space, and the occasional swarm of fighters, towards the relative safety of the station's weaponry. The Rebel craft broke away when they came within range of the station, however the indigs were not nearly as smart and they continued to pursue the five fleeing Imperials right into the firing arc of the station. The result was spectacular, a light show worthy of any celebration. Garin twisted his yoke and brought his fighter to a halt beneath the station, watching the Rebel and indigenous fighters reforming beyond firing range of the station.

"They're going to line up for missile runs." Toth said darkly.

"Agreed," Harth stated deadpan.

"And we can't do anything about it." Kalan muttered sullenly.

Garin nodded agreement, unless they wanted to go out from the safety of the station's guns there really wasn't anything any of them could do to stop the imminent attack. He tapped his finger impatiently on the control yoke, watching the enemy blips form for their attack helplessly. His sensor alarms went off and a blue wedge appeared at the edge of the screen, smaller blue blips began billowing out around it as several blue bars and ovoid shapes appeared in system and began dumping their own swarms of blue.

"This is the IFS _Avenger_, all Rebel ships are to power down immediately, this is your only warning."

Garin smiled as the Rebel's and their allies scattered in all directions, he was too giddy to care that the next attack likely would have finished him, their reinforcements were here finally.

"_Avenger _this is Second Lieutenant Durives, we're glad you could join us."

"Pilot, stay off the com line unless you have something useful to say," there was a pause, then, "we're glad we arrived in time."

Garin quieted at that, sighing heavily; in time was a relative term he supposed that since the station was still intact that the _Avenger _and her fleet were in time. However the _Viper _was gone, along with her entire compliment excepting five pilots.

"Alright survivors, head back to the station. We'll wait and see what happens next."

"I hear that," Toth said. "I haven't gotten a good nights sleep since this started."

"_Viper _pilots, you are to divert to the secondary hangar aboard the _Avenger _immediately."

"_Avenger _control, our posting is aboard 271."

"Copy that pilot, you are to divert to the _Avenger_'s secondary hangar."

"Well they're polite." Matrin grumbled.

"Just follow me in," Garin said his own confusion evident in his voice.

Garin climbed out of his hatch, helmet under his arm and dropped to the catwalk, the secondary hangar was normally for VIPs and other important or sensitive items. He didn't really understand why they'd be diverted here of all places. Or even to the _Avenger _at all, certainly any of the other ships in the task force could have taken them. Toth and the others clambered out of their craft further down the line and joined him.

"So why do we get the best room in the house?" Toth murmured.

Kalan smiled, "they probably have some of those women I was hoping for waiting for us heroes."

Matrin looked at him skeptically. "What is it with you and blind women?"

"Enough, both of you," Harth said coolly, he looked at Garin. "Sir?"

Garin shrugged, "don't look at me; I have no idea what we're supposed to be doing."

The tapping of boots behind them forestalled any further banter, Garin turned to see two officers coming towards them. He frowned; one of them was blue, literally. His skin was a dark shade of blue and he had piercing, pupil-less eyes. Their gaze was chilling, and then Garin's eyes strayed down to the captain's pips on the officer's chest. Training kicked in then and he saluted with the others, the alien captain came to a stop and eyed them for a moment before meeting Garin's eyes.

"You are the leader of these men?"

Garin looked over at the others, he wished he could say no but really he was for all intents and purposes. That meant though that he had to take responsibility for the deaths of those that had served with him as well.

He took a deep breath. "Yes sir."

The captain nodded solemnly. "I took a brief look at the _Viper_'s logs; the station commander transferred them as soon as the _Avenger_ jumped in. Your name came up frequently, it seems Captain Siril had quite a high opinion of your ability to lead and survive against all odds."

Garin swallowed, the Captain's voice and eyes gave nothing away. "Sir, I failed to save the _Viper_ and ten pilots died under my command."

The Captain waved his hand dismissively but Garin saw the other officer's look of disdain, he knew he'd failed, why was this being dragged out?

"You accomplished your primary objective despite insurmountable odds and your tactics enabled the destruction of two Rebel warships and assist in the destruction of a third. That is quite an impressive thing for any mere fighter pilot to have a claim to."

Garin opened his mouth again but the Captain raised his hand for silence, he reached over and his aide handed him a datapad. He tapped the screen a few times and then handed the datapad to Garin. He looked down at them, and then looked up at the Captain his eyes wide in shock.

The Captain smiled. "You and your men are transferred to the _Avenger _you will be assigned to my gun and missile boat squadron for the coming campaign. Also in light of your heroic defense of Station 271 all of you are receiving a promotion. Congratulations Lieutenants."

He turned to leave, Garin saluted, still stunned by what had just happened.

Harth pushed past him. "Excuse me sir, who will we be serving under?"

The Captain turned back to look at them calmly. "I am Captain Thrawn, welcome to the _Avenger_."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"That was the first time you met Thrawn?"

I nodded, leaning back slightly, shifting as I tried to get the restraints to sit evenly. "Yes, I'd never even heard of him before then."

"How did you react to having a non-human captain?"

I blinked and looked at her quietly. "Not all Imperials are xenophobic, just as not all Rebels were righteous freedom fighters."

She glared at me, "that's answering the question Commander."

"And you're assuming that I'm a monster just because I picked the wrong side of this war."

She considered me for a moment before looking back at her datapad. "What did you think of Thrawn?"

I shrugged, my mouth twisting up in a smile. Did she seriously think I would cooperate when she obviously had so many preconceptions about me? That was certainly a laugh.

She looked up, "Commander?"

I raised an eyebrow, she glared. "I do not have to apologize to an Imperial prisoner."

"I apologized for Alderan." I pointed out coyly.

Her face reddened and I smiled, she was supposed to be interrogating me. "Commander, your apology does nothing to change the fact that my entire family died. Go to hell."

I leaned back quietly. "I joined the Empire after my mother was raped and killed by so called Rebel freedom fighters in the slum I lived in. At the time I'd heard that the Rebels were nothing like that, that they fought for freedom and liberty for all. So I figured that they were just the typical trash that seeps into the underworld and moved on despite everything. Then one day I saw them on the news, they'd been executed during an attempt to sabotage the army's cloning facilities, they'd confessed their Rebel connections and even given away the Rebel cells they knew of on Coruscant."

My eyes were ice cold as I stared at her. "I signed up for the Carida Academy that day, and never looked back."

Hey eyes flickered nervously. "It didn't say anything about that in your file, I'm sorry for assuming anything about you."

She said it hesitantly and uncertainly, but she said it at least. "Shouldn't you be more forceful with me? It seems there are more…efficient methods for soliciting my cooperation."

"We do not torture prisoners." She said again.

"Fair enough, I thought Thrawn was our savior and that it didn't matter what color his skin was."

"You stayed with him for the remainder of the Rusanni campaign?"

"All five of us served throughout the campaign flying in the boats, we eventually managed to capture the leaders of the two warring groups and force them into a ceasefire. Thrawn was called back to Imperial Center after that, and we went with him…."

**Approximately seven years earlier, Imperial Center, the Imperial Palace**

"Quite a show don't you think?" Toth asked, tendering his wine gently.

"I suppose." Garin said quietly, looking around at all the finery.

Toth smiled slightly, putting a hand on Garin's shoulder. "Hard being back?"

"I just never saw anything like this is all, I mean there I was living down in the gutters and all this was happening above my head."

"It's the rich and privileged, what can you do? I'm going to try and bring a girl back with me."

Garin snorted and eyed the crowd; he didn't think he'd want to sleep with anyone here, too many strings attached. He looked around for the others and found Harth speaking with several military men quietly; they seemed very interested in him for whatever reason, probably the fact that the newly made Admiral Thrawn had brought him as a special guest. He found Kalan and Matrin together as usual; they'd gathered a ring of younger female guests around them and were busy making them giggle themselves silly. He shook his head; at least they were having fun.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Durives?"

He and Toth turned to see a dazzling red head with piercing green eyes staring at them.

"That's me."

She nodded simply. "Assemble your men, my Master wishes to speak with you privately."

"Your Master?" Toth asked curiously, neither of them had budged, this girl needed to give them more before they did so.

She eyed them in annoyance, the scowl wrinkling her features. "The Emperor."

Garin's blood froze, and he was pretty sure that Toth's did the same. "Y-yes of course, we'll get them together."

She nodded and made her way through the crowd, Garin turned to look at Toth who was suddenly downing his wine like it was the first drink he'd had after years in a desert.

"Get Harth, I'll get the clowns."

Toth scowled. "Great, first the Emperor wants to see us personally, and now you want me to get the guy most likely to deck me."

Garin snorted as they parted, he glanced around, looking for the red head again, spying her waiting off against a wall he continued moving towards Kalan and Matrin. What on earth did the Emperor want five pilots for?


	4. Chapter 4

**Approximately seven years earlier, Imperial Center, the Imperial Palace**

The red head led the way down an eerily silent corridor; the only sound was the clicking of her heels and five pairs of boots. Garin could imagine less frightening things to be doing, flying suicide missions was one of them. Toth, Matrin, and Kalan were all equally silent and he was pretty sure that they shared his preference to being shot at. Harth was, well he was Harth and seemed completely unphased by their unexpected summons. They made a turn and came face to face with four Imperial Guardsmen, the five pilots froze in their tracks, but the red head kept going right past the cordon and paused at the double doors beyond waiting expectantly. Garin swallowed, eying the faceless guards for a moment before moving forwards, Harth followed immediately in his wake, the other three a moment later. The doors opened without being touched, adding to the creepy factor of the entire experience.

As they entered the room beyond, Garin felt a wave of relieve wash over him as he spied Admiral Thrawn, there at least was a familiar face and one he trusted. The other two in the room were less welcome, the Lord Darth Vader was present, ominous and silent accepting his labored breathing, and then there was the Emperor, whose withered features smiled benignly at the late comers, his yellow eyed gaze seemingly piercing everything and everyone it fell upon. Garin felt very, very naked.

The Emperor waved a hand in their direction. "Thank you my child, go enjoy the remainder of the party. I'm sure you'll learn quite a bit from our distinguished guests."

The red head bowed and left the room quietly, the doors closing behind her, locking Garin in the room with the three imposing figures.

The Emperor smiled the gesture anything but comforting. "You five have distinguished yourselves, indeed you have survived an experience that would, and did, kill lesser men."

Garin hardly felt that the men who had died were lesser men, perhaps less skilled, but they had been valuable assets, and with their deaths the Empire was weaker, but he was not about to say that. Along with the others he murmured his thanks for the Emperor's gracious words.

"Admiral Thrawn has expressed a personal interest in you and your men. He has an interesting proposal that I think you should hear."

Thrawn bowed, smiling coolly at them. "I am going to form a special unit, a unit that will operate separately from the main force of the Imperial Fleet and strike in the shadows at the Empire's enemies. I would like you five to be the core of that unit."

Out of the corner of his eye Garin saw Lord Vader cross his arms as if in annoyance, he swallowed nervously. A new unit that operated independently, this was more than a little frightening, though he had to admit, going at the Rebels directly was much more satisfying than sitting around and waiting for them to come to him, which was what the Fleet was doing.

He cast a glance over his shoulder at his companions; there were no objections from any of them that he could see in their eyes.

"Who would we report to?"

The Emperor chuckled. "Why, to Admiral Thrawn of course. I'm sure he will keep you busy."

Garin felt his heart jump, he'd been worried that they would have to report to Lord Vader, or even to the Emperor himself, he'd heard of the Emperor's pet agents and imagined a fighter unit would just as easily fit into his palm as a single agent.

He knelt, and heard the others mimic his gesture. "We gladly accept this opportunity to serve the Empire and our Emperor."

"Good, good," Palpatine croaked pleasurably, despite his pleasant tone, Garin could still feel ice clutching at his heart.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"And that was the founding moment of your unit?"

I nodded quietly. "Shortly after that we were introduced to our new home, a heavy cruiser called the _Black Knight_, she and her crew had been hand picked by Thrawn to support the wing he was forming."

She considered quietly while I licked my lips, my throat was getting dry from all the talking. I cleared my throat pointedly; she looked up at me blankly.

"Water," I said simply.

She scowled, I smirked. "You don't seriously expect me to continue without a drink do you?"

She stood and went to the door to the room, it slid open and an orderly stood there with a pitcher and a glass. He placed it on the table and poured the water into the glass before leaving. I waited for the door to close and my interrogator to be seated again before reaching forwards and clasping the glass with my cuffed hands and bringing it to my lips. I savored the cool taste as it washed over my tongue and down my throat, Toth would have demanded something harder had he been here.

"Your unit Commander," my interrogator prompted.

I smiled, leaning back again in my chair, shifting to a more comfortable position, did they seriously think I was that dangerous to warrant these restraints? After all, it was like she'd said; I was on a Republic cruiser in the midst of dozens of other warships. How could I escape?

"I reported to Thrawn shortly after that to review the personnel he had selected for the unit, they were a pretty impressive group, though I admit that one or two of them were a little unusual…."

**Approximately seven years earlier, aboard the Victory Star Destroyer **_**Avenger **_**orbiting Imperial Center**

Garin glanced over the datapad, checking the names of each of his new pilots and their records. He'd already gone over the flight crews, special ops team, and crew of the _Knight_; he'd saved the pilots for last as a kind of personal treat. After all these were the men he'd be flying with. He paused at the bottom of the list, he'd thought the female twi'lek mechanic had been unusual but he was willing to trust Thrawn's judgment there; this however was a bit much.

He looked up to find Thrawn smiling at him enigmatically. "I take it Vic'que Sajuuk does not meet with your approval."

"She's a pilot."

"Indeed, but that's not what you're thinking." Thrawn steepled his fingers and continued smiling. "You're thinking that she's a _woman_. I believe there are several women in the rest of your forces are there not? Including I believe a twi'lek female."

"I won't be trusting my life to any of them in combat." Garin said simply, women were not allowed into the Fleet or Army for a reason after all.

Thrawn merely shrugged. "I've scheduled a simulator run in ten minutes. I expect you to be there, make sure you join the aggressor squadron."

"She's going to be on the Imperial side isn't she." Garin said he couldn't help the smile that ghosted across his features.

"Perhaps, I suggest you hurry and suite up Captain, before the sim starts without you."

Garin saluted and clicked his heels, "sir!"

Vic went over the briefing again, the mission was a raid on a known Rebel outpost. It was a hit and run to establish base defenses before a larger strike force was brought to bear on the target. Of course if resistance was less than expected, the TIE advanced were encouraged to expend their munitions stores and destroy any targets of opportunity that presented themselves. She didn't expect this to be anymore challenging than the previous simulations that she'd been put through in the last few weeks. It was getting a bit redundant really, and none of the other pilots appreciated being beaten by a woman. Let them think what they liked, she might be the fifth daughter in her family and nearly useless in Kuat society by that token, but she'd be damned if she didn't make them regret the assumption that women were inferior.

The simulator lights dimmed and the screen switched a projected view of hyperspace and she took a moment to relax and think about the situation ahead of her. Rebel bases like this tended to have a motley assortment of fighters, though intel warned that there had been reports by scouts of some high end Rebel fighter models in the area, the newer A-wings, though there was no way to know if they'd be in system or elsewhere entirely. She hoped they would be there, she'd like to test the advanced against the A-wing, she knew it was fast, faster than the interceptor but it wasn't nearly as maneuverable as either the interceptor or the advanced; and from intel reports its shielding, unlike most Rebel craft, was lackluster.

The tunnel of light became a series of white lines and then the lines developed into individual points of light and then she was dropped back to normal space. She immediately checked her squadmates' positions, they were where they were supposed to be, and she formed up with her flight leader and began active scanning for targets. They were there sure enough, so far she only saw X-wings.

"Alright squadron; Rebel Xs are inbound; take them out and move onto the supply base."

Vic didn't need to be told, she was more concerned with the sensors than the oncoming X-wings, there was something off about the readings that didn't sit right with her.

"Four this is Three, do you have any strange readings in front of the X-wings?"

"There seems to be some kind of magnetic ripple like some kind of wave, no steady reading though."

Vic nodded, so it wasn't just her. "One this is Three, I think we have Rebel jammers in front of those Xs."

"You mean that ripple?" The squad leader's voice came calmly.

"Yes."

"It's nothing, just radiation, continue to engage."

"Sir I think we need to—"

"I'm in command ensign, you will follow my orders."

"Sir," Vic said tersely, she had to follow his orders yes, but that didn't mean committing suicide.

"Four this is Three, hang back I think those A-wings are in front of the Xs and about to jump us."

There was a pause and she wondered if her wingman would be as stupid as her commander, but then she got an affirmative two clicks and saw Four's TIE fall back with hers. No one else in the squadron followed them but no one stopped them either, they probably just assumed that she was being cowardly and that meant more glory for them. She kept her eyes glued to the sensors watching the ripple moving in front of the X-wings. There had to be enemy fighters right there, keeping pace with the X-wings so they wouldn't attract too much attention, this was going to be bad if she was right.

"Missiles missiles, oh stang!"

There was a flash in front of her and three of her squadron erupted into orange fireballs. It might have been a sim but she still felt her heart jump as adrenaline surged through her. She banked, Four following with her and rolled under the confusion to come up beneath the volley of concussion missiles. She was close enough now to get a visual and sure enough there were five A-wings in front of the eight X-wings and the former had just kicked their engines into full gear. Before she could get a bead on them they'd accelerated well past her and she knew what would happen next. The squadron would have to choose whether to turn and engage the As and have the Xs behind them, or deal with the Xs and hope the As weren't turning quickly enough to come back and fire another salvo.

She chose to engage the X-wings, switching to missiles, she didn't have nearly as many as her opponents, the X-wings could carry six proton torpedoes, or eight concussion missiles, while the A-wings carried eight concussion missiles. She just carried four, which meant she had to make them count. She locked onto the nearest X and waited for the tone to go solid before firing, the missile lanced out from her portside and zeroed in on the Rebel fighter which began juking and rolling in every direction, dropping flares and chaff as it went. The missile was true though and it slammed into the fighter sending it spinning as its shields buckled, a second missile from Four finished it off. Vic smiled, Four at least had some brains and wasn't above flying with a woman.

"Thank you Arliss."

"We've got friends behind us Three."

She spun her TIE around and rolled just in time as two A-wings rocketed past her, they'd come back faster than expected. She heard several more yells and curses as other members of her squadron were destroyed. So far they'd lost seven of their number for five Rebels this wasn't going well at all, whoever was commanding the aggressor squadron knew his stuff. She snapped off a laser burst as another A-wing went head to head with her, and had the satisfaction of watching its shields buckle as the fighter broke apart. Their shields really weren't up to the task that was something to remember.

"Spit! I've got one on me, I'v—"

Four's voice cut out and she dove to avoid yet another A-wing hoping that it would overshoot her. It didn't though; the pilot cut the engines and rolled with her dive, rotating the A-wing's blasters in an arc to keep peppering her shields. She swung her nose around and fired a dual shot of missiles point blank with no lock. It was a long shot but it worked, the A-wing rolled out of the way of the oncoming missiles which gave her the time to fire her lasers, the Rebel fighter accelerated past her, her shots glancing off his shields. Who the hell was this she wondered, none of her shipmates were this good, she'd have known.

She checked her sensors again, the battle had shifted, five of the X-wings were down and two of the A-wings with them. The remaining three X-wings were engaging what remained of her squadron with two of the A-wings. Her A-wing was coming back for another go at her. She punched her throttle to full, if she could get clear of the moon's gravity well she could escape and report back to command, which was the whole point of the mission anyways.

Her coms crackled as she fled; "an Imperial running and leaving her squadron to die, now that's a new one, and you expect to make something of yourself as a pilot."

It wasn't a voice she recognized, and his amused tone set her fuse. "You want to go pilot? I'll take you down!"

"Good luck Imperial, I'm right on your tail, let's see what you can do about it."

Red laser bolts shot around her and she felt her ship buck from the impacts, if she slowed down and turned to fight then she was certain she'd be eliminated, whoever this pilot was, he wasn't some trainee. She put her shields double rear, and though desperately, then it came to her, she punched her flare dispenser, the mini-missile fired out from her ship and rammed into the pursuing A-wing, it wasn't enough to kill it, but the fighter was knocked off course and the electromagnetic charge the flare carried would keep him offline for the rest of the fight. She smiled, turning around and arming her last missile.

"Die you bastard, this is for Arliss."

The missile lanced out and slammed into the disabled A-wing, it burst in an orange fireball that quickly burned itself out in the vacuum, Vic smiled triumphantly, then proximity alerts went off and she watched as something jetted from the debris and slammed into her cockpit, the simulator screen went dark as she was killed, leaving her in the dark, swearing and slamming her fists into the simulator controls. The scum bag had gotten her with his own escape pod!

The simulator hissed open and Garin took off his helmet, climbing out of the pseudo-cockpit, a smile on his face. That had been entertaining, he'd never have done that in a real fight, but then again none of the TIE models had escape pods so he supposed that it didn't matter. Though if he was lucky Thrawn would let him keep the missile and gun boats they'd been using. A few of those TIE Avengers, or Advanced as they were typically called, would be a nice addition.

"You," he looked up to see someone storming towards him. "Yes you, in pod seventeen!"

"Uh, good luck sir." The pilot besides him murmured. "You nailed her right?"

Garin nodded, the pilot winced. "Remember to duck."

He looked back towards the raging pilot, she'd taken off her helmet, the first thing he noticed was her piercing green eyes surrounded by long blonde hair, the second thing he noticed was her right hook and he forgot to duck.


	5. Chapter 5

**Approximately seven years earlier, aboard the Victory Star Destroyer **_**Avenger **_**orbiting Imperial Center**

Thrawn scrutinized Garin's bruised cheek for a moment before looking at Vic'que with an upward tilt to his mouth that might have signified mirth.

"This is the first time I've heard of an officer striking their superior on their first day of duty. Normally I would have you locked up and court-martialed at the very least. However you're still needed as I don't have a suitable replacement in the Captain's unit for you."

Vic'que looked like she had swallowed bile. "I am not serving with this man sir."

Thrawn paused by his chair, placing a gloved finger on the armrest slowly. "Oh?"

"I refuse to serve with a man who cheats to win sir."

"Cheats?" Thrawn said curiously, eyeing Garin, his expression indulgent as if he were dealing with a petulant child.

"He didn't kill me Admiral, he cheated."

"Oh, and if that had been a real engagement then you could of course say it wasn't fair and the Rebel pilot of course would take it back and allow you to strike him."

"I—" Thrawn's gaze quieted any further embarrassing statements.

"Lieutenant Sajuuk, you have no chance of advancing in the traditional Fleet hierarchy, for better or worse the Imperial system allows very few opportunities for women. So if you do not take this appointment your chances of advancement will vanish and you will remain in obscurity for the remainder of your career." Thrawn's eyes narrowed. "Don't forget who it was that saved you from a life as little more than a trinket in your family's living room."

Vic'que stiffened and she saluted. "Where do I report sir?"

Thrawn blinked quietly and took his seat. "You are asking the wrong officer."

She looked like she was about to vomit as she turned to face Garin. "Where do I report sir?"

"The heavy cruiser _Black Knight_, the rest of our crew will be leaving the _Avenger _this evening at 1800 GST. Welcome aboard Lieutenant."

She saluted, and turned to leave without a backwards glance, her displeasure was almost tangible as she stomped from the room.

He turned back to Thrawn and saluted with a smile. "She'll do fine sir."

Thrawn nodded approvingly. "I thought she might, though I recommend you speak with your commando commander about self-defense."

Garin watched as the shuttle's wings swung upwards and the vessel touched down on the hangar deck.

"So after this we go out on our first cruise."

He nodded, not even turning as Toth joined him. "Wait until you see our latest pilot."

"Is he something special?" Toth asked, stretching. "These pilots we've already got are good; I've had a hard time nailing them in simulator runs."

"What about the others?"

"Well Kal and Matrin are almost unbeatable together though they've been tagged once or twice that I've seen. Harth is something else though, it's like watching a machine, he's flawless; took me and four other guys to finally get him."

Garin chuckled, yes Harth was good, and he was probably the best pilot he had in all honesty. "He and the new pilot are not going to get along well. She'll probably keep going until she falls asleep at the controls."

"Yeah well Ha—wait, _she?" _Toth asked in bewilderment. "First we have a woman captain for our ship, then we get a woman commanding our commando attachment and now we have a woman pilot?"

"You're forgetting our chief, she's a woman too."

"And a tail-head, but at least she looks good." Toth smiled at Garin. "Does this lady pilot look good too?"

"See for yourself." Garin said, nodding towards the lowering ramp on the shuttle.

Toth turned and stared, his eyes lighting up eagerly. "Oh, hold me, I think I'm in love."

Garin snorted. "You want her?" Toth nodded, "go right ahead, just remember to duck."

Toth wasn't listening anymore, he'd already strode off to greet Vic'que and was trying to take her bag from her, Garin wondered what would happen and considering her expression he had a feeling it wouldn't be conducive to Toth's health.

There was a knock on Garin's door; he looked up from his datapad quizzically.

"Enter."

Toth came in, scowling and holding a bruised cheek. "Remember that new pilot?" Garin snorted as Toth continued to scowl. "Well you can keep her sir, and that damned hook."

Garin turned to his desk and reached down to his cooled drawer and produced a tankard of Corellian Brandy.

"Don't tell anyone, but you look like you could use it."

He poured a glass, and handed it to Toth who took it gratefully, though he didn't drink it immediately, instead putting it against his bruised cheek. After a moment he finally did drink, sighing as he looked at Garin appreciatively.

"You are a lifesaver, and the secret stash is safe in my keeping. So what's the plan?"

"Thrawn gave us orders to start raiding Rebel depots and the like, we have a special hololink directly to him so I imagine that we'll get occasional requests to deal with specific incidents or even participate in fleet actions. For the most part though, we have free reign."

Toth raised his glass, "well here's to the Empire's first raiders."

Garin raised his own glass. "And here's to Lieutenant Sajuuk's right hook."

His friend glowered for a moment, before both men burst out laughing and poured another round of drinks.

**Present interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilgringi Shipyards**

"So that was your first cruise, and it lasted for how long?"

I shrugged easily, or as easily as I could in my restraints, "the remainder of that year and into the beginning of the next."

She nodded and went over her notes. "Your force composition was originally three squadrons, one assault gunboat unit, one missile boat unit, and a squadron of Avengers correct?"

I nodded, "yes."

"What kind of missions did you embark upon?"

"Commerce raiding, hit and runs, and deep strike missions against Rebel outposts. We stayed away from large scale conflicts and went after undefended targets, taking our cues from the Rebellion's own handbook actually. I think your side had a rather cute nickname for us."

She looked up at me, "cute?"

"Yes, the Black Bandits or something."

"The Blackened Rebels," she corrected. "You used our tactics so well and operated so differently from other Imperial units that it was originally assumed that you were a Rebel unit that had gone rogue or joined the Empire."

"Rogue Rebels that used Imperial hardware; that might actually make sense if it didn't sound utterly ridiculous. No Rebels could have been that well equipped at that time."

My tone must have struck something because she winced. "Well you made sure that your attacks were thorough. I believe two out of three attacks had no survivors."

I nodded, "secrecy was our best weapon, that and the uncertainty that came with it. We forced you to deal with an enemy that used your own tactics against you."

She ignored the barb and cleared her throat. "You said you started off using assault gun boats, missile boats and Avenger mark ones, but the first confirmed sighting of your unit shows a completely different composition in two of those squadrons."

"You mean the Defenders and Avenger mark twos we got after our first cruise."

"How did you come by the upgrade?"

"Simple, when our first cruise was over, we headed to our rendezvous to resupply and rearm. When we met with the convoy they informed us that they had orders to repossess our current fighters and give us new ones, the end result was the ship configuration you stated…."

**Approximately six years earlier, deep space, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

Garin opened the door to the observation deck above the hangar to find Harth, Toth, Vic'que, Kalan, and Matrin already there.

"Admiring the new toys?" He asked no one in particular.

"You should see Daru," Matrin said with a smile.

"Yeah," Kalan continued, "she's practically falling over herself out there."

Garin looked out through the transparasteel down to the hangar below, and sure enough, Daru was darting this way and that pointing and waving as the new fighters were offloaded from their barge and the old fighters were loaded in their place. She did indeed seem to be having a good time. She was in her element, in the few months they'd been serving together, he'd learned that she was the best chief mechanic he could have asked for even if she wasn't human. How Thrawn had gotten her assigned to him was anyone's guess, but he was glad that she had been nonetheless.

"There's a command meeting in one hour, I expect all of you to be there."

There was a mixture of reactions, Harth nodded absently, his eyes never leaving the new Skipray Blastboats below, Toth smirked and threw a lopsided salute. Kalan and Matrin merely kept grinning like they always did, while Vic'que didn't even bat an eyelash. Despite serving with them all this time, she was still aloof and removed from the rest of the unit. She kept to herself, even with her own squadron, so far it hadn't been a problem so Garin hadn't pressed the subject, however sooner or later she'd have to come into the fold. He knew that her pilots thought that she was cold and didn't care about them, a few had complained to him or the other ranking officers. Even Harth, who was so laconic as to be painfully quiet, had his misgivings over her detached nature.

"I'm not letting some tail-head sign off on this equipment, I don't care who you say you are."

Daru glared at the loadmaster, her fists clenching as she breathed deeply, she had to remember that the Captain had asked her expressly not to start any fights today; but it was so hard when most Imperial junk heads thought she was worth less than axle grease, and it pissed her off.

"Is there a problem Deck Officer?"

Daru's temper immediately softened and she smiled as the loadmaster fell over himself. "No sir, nothing wrong sir."

Garin nodded as he strode past Daru, he was only average height, but he knew how to make that height count and Daru's smile broadened as she watched Garin stare down the offending officer and his companions.

"Good, now let's make sure we understand one another, this is a member of my crew, and you are being very disrespectful to her. Now you are going to finish offloading your cargo and taking on our cargo and then you are going to thank my chief for her assistance and get your hide off my ship before I decide to space you."

"Y-yes sir," Daru had to control her laughter as the man tripped over himself and his fellows in his hurry to get away from the Captain.

"Thank you sir, but you didn't have to do that."

Garin shrugged easily, "I remember what happened to the last man who decided to insult you."

Daru's blue skin darkened in a blush, yes, the last person who had brought up her species and gender and not let it go had ended up in the infirmary with three cracked ribs and a broken arm.

"I wasn't going to do anything sir, I remembered your request."

"What do you think of the new fighters?"

Daru's temperament switched instantly. "The new Avenger is amazing, I don't know when they built her exactly but she's going to fly rings around the older model. She has two more laser cannons and room for even more ordnance. I can't wait to get to work on them," she smiled at Garin mischievously. "I know you have a soft spot for your Star Wing but the Defender makes it look like a junker, it doesn't have the same missile payload but it's much faster has two more lasers and still retains the ion cannons. I guarantee you'll love them sir."

Garin nodded; looking over at the transport as it offloaded the third fighter type they'd been given.

"What about the blastboat?"

Daru frowned. "I'm not sure why the Admiral sent us that sir. It's a much more capable fighting platform than the missile boats yes, but it doesn't have anywhere near the warhead capacity. Plus it requires a crew of five instead of just one, not sure how he intends us to use it effectively since we'll be losing a squadron of twelve boats for a flight of three."

Garin smiled, "the Admiral sent us three more crew members, and I'm letting Harth organize the squadron how he sees fit. I'm sure we'll be able to work something out, they certainly give us a bit more firepower than the missile boat, even if we do lose the ordnance and numbers."

She nodded skeptically, "the lieutenant isn't going to be happy about the change sir."

Garin snorted, no, Harth wouldn't be happy about the change at all but they had to deal with what the Admiral gave them after all, it wasn't like they could object. If Thrawn ordered them to use a different ship type, they didn't have much choice in the matter.

"I've got to go get ready for the command meeting, will you be alright here?"

She smiled, looking over at the cheeky loadmaster. "I'll be fine; I don't think he wants to be thrown out the airlock."

Garin stepped into the meeting room and took a quick glance around, eyeing the group he'd come to consider family in the past months: the _Knight_'s commanding officer, Captain Irianna Chapela, and her second, Commander Orlis Kindran, the commander of their assault team, Major Sissir Yvonne, and then there were his officers of course. He took his seat at the head of the table and leaned forwards, considering everyone around the table for a moment, in all reality it was a bizarre situation. Normally Fighter Command, which he was part of, was subservient to Fleet Command instead of the other way around. In this case though Thrawn had given him command priority. And certainly for an Imperial Army major to be under the command of a Fighter Command captain was nothing short of extraordinary.

"How are we doing?"

Irianna touched her console and a holo display came to life in the center of the table, allowing everyone to see the information that was displaying on her private console.

"We're nearly fully stocked with the necessary supplies, once that is completed we will be able to get underway for our next cruise. Given that the Rebellion still has little, if any, idea of who or what we are I expect that we will have similar success on our second deployment."

Sissir leaned forwards quietly, "did you acquire the new gear for my men?"

Garin liked Sissir, she was to the point and efficient, the fact that she had made major in a commando outfit in a male dominated military spoke volumes about her abilities.

"Yes, the new weapons and armor will be in your barracks by the time we're ready to depart."

She nodded her thanks, Garin turned to his pilots. "Now, we need to address something that I neglected on our first cruise." Everyone looked a little confused, he smirked. "Squadron names, we've yet to choose anything and I think it's time we do that."

"Diamond," Harth said.

Garin frowned, "that was quick."

Kalan and Matrin burst out laughing, "that's because we've been calling him Diamond One since Russani."

"So our bombers are now Diamond squad," he looked over at Vic'que. "What are your boys going to call themselves?"

"Call sign Wyvern."

Garin nodded approval, a slight smile. "My squad will be Shadow from now on."

"Sir there is one more thing," Harth said quietly. "These new blastboats and the three new squad members, how does the Admiral expect us to operate effectively with such a limited force?"

Garin shrugged apologetically, his face reflecting his own misgivings. "I honestly have no answers for you Harth, it is completely up to you how you want to operate the Skiprays, they're still capable strike and attack craft from what I've read on the designs. They're practically capital ships in their own right and they've got the best atmospheric performance of all our types."

Harth didn't seem placated, "I cannot guarantee that our bombing attacks will be nearly as effective as was previously the case."

Garin considered for a moment, sighing slightly as he reached a decision, Thrawn was not going to be happy. "Irianna, contact the hangar deck, tell them we'll be keeping our twelve missile boats and three of the gunboats. They can take back the Skiprays. Harth those gunboats are now under your command."

Harth nodded, a rare smile coming across his face, "thank you sir."

Kalan smiled, "uh oh, if he keeps this up, we'll have to stop calling him the diamond man."


	6. Chapter 6

**Approximately six years earlier, deep space, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

Garin continued looking over the outcome of the last engagement, the spooks in the Cave, the nickname given to the _Knight_'s CIC, had gotten info on a Rebel supply depot that was expecting a convoy. So of course Garin had ordered a strike, the initial attack had gone off like a charm, they'd disabled the facility's defenses and then the commandos had landed and commandeered the command systems. Garin had ordered the three squadrons under his command to hide on the far side of the moon and wait for the signal to attack. They'd waited for over an hour before the signal had come and they'd sprung the trap. The Rebels hadn't stood a chance, in less than five minutes the entire convoy was so much floating scrap, and three minutes after the supply base was leveled with charges placed by the commando team.

Remarkably in Garin's mind, they had yet to lose a single pilot; it was a welcome change from his first deployment. The nightmares of Russani still came back to him from time to time. His com board flashed and twittered; he reached over and hit the pick up.

"This is Durives."

"Kindran here sir, we've just received a distress call from a civilian convoy. They claim to under attack by unknown Imperial assailants."

Garin frowned, unknown Imperial assailants was a strange way to put it.

"Do a check Commander; are there any other units in this sector?"

"Negative, I had CIC check and re-check our databanks. If they are friendly then they've got deeper black status than we do."

He was silent, considering his options; he didn't have any orders about protecting civilians and risking his people over non-objective hostiles.

"Sir, they're attacking _civilians_." Kindran said pointedly, interjecting into Garin's thought process.

Garin nodded, smiling at Kindran's boldness, it was a quality he liked in _Knight_'s XO.

"Battle alert, Wyvern and Shadow squadrons will scramble. Contact Admiral Thrawn as soon as possible, see if he knows anything about this."

"Yes sir, I'll wake the Captain."

"Thank you Commander."

The blue and white light collapsed into thousands of points of light as Garin dropped out of hyperspace. He hadn't known what to expect given the situation, but it wasn't what was in front of him. The convoy had taken a pounding and several of the ships were already destroyed; there were small, unidentified craft darting back and forth amongst the remaining freighters.

His com crackled, "attention incoming craft, we are under attack, please he—oh god, more Imperials."

Garin scowled, "civilian craft, we are here to assist. Do not; I repeat do not fire on our craft." He switched over to the wing frequency. "Alright, Wyverns, Shadows, targets are the fighters attacking the convoy. Engage."

He accelerated, the Defender's raw power outstripping the slower Avengers, though the Avengers were not far behind and they quickly joined the furball that developed seconds later as the hostile fighters moved to engage Hades. He swore as one of the fighters rocketed past him, and spun as target alerts blared, these were some impressive pilots. Who in the galaxy was he up against?

"Did you see that? Looked like a TIE fighter with a booster on its back, what are we fighting here?"

"I have no idea Toth, just shoot them before they shoot you."

"No objections sir." Toth said brightly.

"Shadow One, this is Wyvern One. I have several large shuttles on the outskirts of the engagement zone. They don't appear to be part of the convoy, permission to engage?"

"Negative Sajuuk, the fighters are our priority."

"But si—"

"You are not to engage any other targets until the fighters are dealt with, we do not know what we are dealing with here and I will not have us splitting our forces."

Garin spun, firing a linked burst of his ion and laser cannons into the target he'd been pursuing. The lasers went wide, but the ion cannons hit, blue lighting coursed over the hull and the fighter just stopped dead in space, Garin's own craft slammed into the frozen fighter and he temporarily lost control as his Defender careened through space.

"Lead, are you okay?" One of his wing mates called out.

"I'm fine, did anyone else see that?" Garin growled as he regained control, thanking the stars for his shields.

"Yes sir, it just stopped dead. No idea what caused it, you didn't hit it hard enough for the ion cannons to do that."

Garin rolled and opened fire on his latest pursuer, this time just with his lasers to avoid a repeat performance of the strange stall from the last fighter. This time he got a satisfying explosion, at least they blew up easily. The fighters seemed to be bizarre ad hoc TIE variants with various add-ons and modifications. What in space was going on?

"Captain, the transports are bugging out, so are the fighters; looks like they don't want to play anymore."

"Alright, flight leaders check your elements and account for everyone. Wyvern One, signal the _Black Knight _tell them to jump in, these civilians will need aid and repair crews. Wyvern will take up patrol duties on the perimeter; Shadow will remain in close and protect the _Knight_."

A chorus of affirmatives greeted him, he watched his scanners as the last of the unknown fighters jumped into hyperspace; his mind ill at ease. Who had access to enough TIE parts to produce such weird fighters, and why were they attacking civilians?

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"And that was your first encounter with the unknown TIE variants?"

I nodded, taking another gulp of water and finishing up the glass, I held it up curiously, and she scowled. She took the glass from me and went to the door; another orderly was standing there with another full glass. What was this, a luxury liner?

"At the time we were unable to raise Thrawn, I'm still not sure what he was doing, but in the week it took us to contact him we engaged the unknown fighters three more times in that sector. By that point it was pretty obvious that we were either dealing with a deep black operation that had orders to kill anyone they encountered, or a rogue that had access to TIE manufacturing facilities."

She nodded, "what happened once Thrawn did contact you?"

I smiled, "what usually happened when someone crossed Thrawn….."

**Approximately six years earlier, deep space, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

"And they never once tried to hail you." Thrawn said his expression grim.

"No sir, the first encounter we did not hail them either, I thought that it was obvious who we should be helping; but on all subsequent engagements we hailed them before hailing the ships under attack and never received any response."

Thrawn nodded thoughtfully. "And of course you searched all the ships in the convoy thoroughly."

"Yes sir, Major Yvonne went over each ship personally and I had her conduct the same search on all other ships that were attacked. We never found anything that would warrant an Imperial attack."

Again Thrawn's image nodded, Garin could just imagine the rest of the Admiral's body, reclining slightly in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of him as he considered the facts. Thrawn's gaze flicked off to the side for a moment, no doubt consulting a screen before he looked back at Garin.

"I have down thorough checks of the Imperial database and even approached the Emperor on this matter. As far as I can find, there are no records of your mystery fighters. We have been tasked with finding out more about our new foes and if possible destroying them before they become more than a nuisance."

Garin nodded agreement, "another thing sir, I assume you've seen the reports about how the fighters behaved when struck by an ion cannon, any ideas?"

Thrawn smiled indulgently. "Come now Captain, I'm sure you can figure that out for yourself."

Garin remained silent, feeling a bit foolish as Thrawn sighed and shook his head. "To think that I have such hopes for you; very well, they're remote controlled, and if I had to guess I would say that the shuttles Lieutenant Sajuuk first spotted are the controllers. The ion blasts, while not enough to outright disable them, are enough to disrupt communications between the fighters and their controllers. I imagine they have an emergency stop that activates when they lose signal between the controller and the fighter, hence why they simply drift once hit with an ion blast."

"So all this time I should have been going after the shuttles instead of the fighters." Garin said, feeling like a true idiot, Vic'que was not going to let him live this one down.

"Indeed, do not trouble yourself with it;" Thrawn's gaze flicked over Garin's shoulder and a smile appeared on his features, "this is a new tactic that I doubt many people have seen. You cannot be expected to foresee the unknown. I am transmitting your new orders, Thrawn out."

The hologram died and the room was dark for a moment before the lights flicked on again, Garin stood and unplugged his datapad from the terminal eyeing the new orders curiously. They were to stop all anti-Rebel activity until this new threat was assessed, he had no problems with that, he could do with a little vacation from Rebel raiding. He turned to find Vic'que leaning against the doorjamb, smiling smugly.

"You should have listened to me."

Garin eyed her for a moment before shrugging. "How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough to know Thrawn is disappointed in you, _Captain._"

He really didn't want to have this discussion with her right now; he had other things to take care of.

"If you're done gloating, I need to speak with Captain Chapela." He tried to move past her but she didn't move. "Excuse me Lieutenant."

"I don't think you're fit to command this unit. Your tactics in these past few engagements haven't helped us at all. If you'd have listened to me then the enemy would have been defeated that much sooner."

"Everyone makes their share of mistakes."

"I don't." She said her voice holier than thou.

Garin sighed, looking down at her coolly. "Do you really want to have this discussion Lieutenant Sajuuk?"

"I don't think there is anything to discuss, sir. I have already submitted my opinion to the Admiral."

Garin felt his stomach clench and he squeezed his fist quietly, was she really trying to get him removed? Fine, then he had no reason to be kind any longer just because she was Thrawn's pet project.

"You are a disgrace to your uniform Lieutenant," his voice now sounded formal, no longer the easy going tone that he normally spoke with. "You tell me that I am a failure as a commander when you yourself can't seem to fathom your own flaws."

"I told you, I have no flaws," she said, her smugness almost palpable.

"Yes you do, you belittle and ignore your subordinates to the point where they feel that their lives mean nothing to you."

He tapped a key on his datapad and handed it to her, smiling coolly. She looked down at it and her face began turning red, though whether from anger or embarrassment he couldn't tell.

"Who has been telling you this?" She asked acidly.

Anger, Garin thought to himself, a smug smile of his own coming to his face. "Your pilots, I've kept their complaints anonymous for obvious reasons, but they've been making these statements to myself and other officers since our first engagements. I was going to leave it alone and trust that you would simply fall into the fold. However since you've seen fit to submit your displeasure with my command to Thrawn, well I feel it only fair to do the same, and as you can see, I have more than my own misgivings to go own."

She stiffened visibly as Garin continued. "Furthermore Lieutenant, as you seem to have forgotten, the men under your command trust you with their lives and you have been treating them like servants and they are very resentful of that fact. The only reason I haven't transferred you to Diamond or Shadow squadron and assigned a new commander to Wyvern is because you're a damned good pilot and combat leader even if your people skills leave much to be desired." He took the datapad back from her stiff fingers. "Now get out of my way, I am going to submit these complaints into the ships log."

Vic'que bit her lip and took a deep breath, still blocking his path. "You cannot speak to me like this male. You are not even of the same caste as I am."

She stood only three inches shorter than him, but at that moment he seemed to tower over her as he smiled darkly. "Your caste does not apply here Lieutenant. You are no better than any other _man _under my command. Right now, Chief Sequin is more valuable to me than you are, and much more reliable."

That remark hit where he expected, "you dare compare me to that blue skinned trash! I wo—"

"You will shut up, and get out of my way Lieutenant before I call Major Yvonne and ask that she assign a pair of commandos to your quarters."

This time he was ready for her punch and moved out of the way, he'd taken Thrawn's jest to heart and taken part in several of the commando unit's training sessions. He twisted her arm and rammed his foot against her knee, dropping her to the floor with a sickening crunch. She groaned as he held her arm, pinning her to the deck, with his free hand he pulled out his comlink.

"Sissir?"

"Here sir," came the Major's crisp voice.

"Send two of your men to my quarters and escort Lieutenant Sajuuk to the infirmary. Once the medics have cleared her for duty, she is confined to quarters until I say otherwise."

There was a brief pause, and then Sissir's voice came back to him. Garin swore that he heard mirth in her tone.

"I'm coming up personally sir; we'll take care of her."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"You ordered one of your command staff confined to quarters after breaking her leg?" My interrogator asked in a stunned voice.

I chuckled fondly at the memory, "yes, in hindsight it wasn't the best way to resolve the situation but I wasn't exactly going to let her punch me again. Though in all honesty, had I felt so inclined I had grounds to have her shot, so confining her to quarters and giving her command to her second was the mildest I could have done wouldn't you agree?"

She frowned at me and I smiled at her, she'd never been in combat in the kind of situations we had been in. We had our own way of doing things developed and we operated outside the normal chain of command, we even had a code that enabled me to order Fleet Captains, who would have normally outranked me, to assist Hades Wing in its missions.

"So why did you?"

I blinked, coming back from my memories, "pardon?"

"Why didn't you have her shot since you obviously could have."

I shrugged, these restraints were really getting old, I had considered asking that they be removed but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon I knew.

"Because despite her arrogance, she was a fine combat officer and a damned good pilot; I couldn't afford to lose those skills when we had no way to replace them until our next cruise."

"So when did you begin to hunt down these experimental fighters?"

"Immediately….."


	7. Chapter 7

**Approximately six years earlier, deep space, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

Garin looked at the data that was being presented to him on his datapad, he sighed and looked around the conference table at his officers.

"So we have a track on their movements then?"

Captain Chapela nodded, "based on their estimated range and area of operations we fired A-LRX probe droids into these sectors after analyzing their strike patterns."

She tapped a button on her pad and the hologram projector in the center of the conference table sprang to life. Showing a mapping of the sectors in question laid out in a grid pattern.

"We've narrowed down our search grid to five sectors and have probes currently exploring them, we should know in a few hours whether or not there is anything of note in those areas."

"What do we do if we do find something of interest?" Toth inquired quietly, leaning back in his seat, his hands behind his head.

"Simple, we destroy them." Harth said coolly.

Garin caught Sissir's eye and smiled, "not quite. Despite the number of encounters we've had with these units we still no nothing about who is building them or why. Given that Admiral Thrawn can't find any information on them despite implied Imperial origins could mean we're dealing with another clandestine operation." He looked around the table seriously. "We don't want to go destroying any of the Emperor's pet projects if we can help it. There is only so much protection Thrawn can give us. We need more information, so when we find their base of operations we will hit them hard, but before we level the place Sissir's commandos will raid whatever facilities we find and pull any data that they can find. The more information we obtain the better."

"What about the Wyverns?" Harth inquired calmly, always asking the important questions.

"Yeah," Kalan chimed in, "you can't just leave her Iciness locked in her quarters this entire cruise."

"If she is fully recovered from her injury and can perform her duties then she is welcome to resume active operations with the rest of the wing." Garin said simply.

"That reminds me," Toth said, now leaning forward with interest. "How did she break her leg?"

Garin opened his mouth but Sissir beat him to it, "training accident."

It wasn't what he was going to say, but the knowing looks that everyone around the conference table exchanged told him that they all knew what had happened and weren't going to deviate from Sissir's version.

"I'm going to put my pilots through a few assault simulations," Harth said, standing up from the table.

Matrin groaned as he and Kalan got up to follow. "Great, as if we don't have enough drilling to deal with."

Kalan jabbed him in the ribs as Harth eyed them both with a cruel smile. "Better button up or Diamond One is going to think of something nastier."

Garin watched them leave, then looked at Toth beseechingly, "do you think those two will ever grow up?"

His friend chuckled and shrugged, "I'd be terrified if they did."

Vic'que lay in her bed staring at the ceiling fuming quietly; she looked over at the door wondering if the two commandos were still there. Her leg didn't hurt anymore, but her pride was still stung. She'd been confined to quarters for the better part of a week. Rationally she knew that she was lucky to have not been thrown in the ship's brig or shot but that did nothing to assuage the fury she felt over her condition. She felt betrayed by her pilots who had submitted the complaints about her behavior to Captain Durives and whoever else they'd thought could deal with it. Even more worthy of her ire was Durives himself for putting her in here in the first place. The fact that she was still here meant that Thrawn probably hadn't told Durives to do anything about her. The thought that her patron had abandoned her was frightening. She'd been alone and left by the side of life for so long until Thrawn had noticed her. That he would abandon her was something she was too scared to consider.

She came out of her thoughts as a knock sounded on the door; she turned to glare at the door.

"What?"

"May I come in Lieutenant?" Came Durives' voice from beyond the hatch.

She scowled, "no."

The door whooshed open and Durives stepped into her quarters, she sat up and glared at him, looking beyond him for the guards, there weren't there which surprised her slightly.

"What do you want?" She growled, when he didn't answer her mood worsened as she muttered a grudging: "sir."

"We'll commencing combat operations against our mystery fighters soon. Once we have the data from our probes we should know where they are being launched from. I would like to put you back in command of your squadron again if possible."

"You expect me to fly for you after this humiliation?"

Garin shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn't really care how she felt about it. "I need my pilots, all of them, you're one of them. I'm willing to overlook what has happened and give you another chance. If you're still a problem after this cruise you can transfer back to Thrawn's command."

Vic'que winced at the mental image of going back to Thrawn like a whipped dog because of some male. It was unacceptable.

"I'll fly for you." She said grudgingly.

Garin's eyes narrowed, "that isn't going to work."

She looked up at him, "more humiliation?"

He shook his head, "I'm not asking you to lick my boots; I'm asking you to work as part of this team. You got away with your antics under Thrawn because none of your fellow pilots thought you were worth anything to begin with so they didn't care. Out here Lieutenant, you are part of this family whether you like it or not, and if you can't work as a part of that family you can just stay in here and sulk."

His words kindled a fire in her chest and she looked at him with eyes that would have killed if they were able. "I will work as part of this unit sir. Is there anything else?"

Garin smiled, she'd expected him to look triumphant at subduing her but he looked happy, relieved even which wasn't at all what she was expecting.

"Your unit is yours again Lieutenant, I suggest you go talk with your XO about what you've missed."

With that he turned and left her quarters, Vic'que sat for a moment before reaching for her boots and pulling them on. She stood and headed towards the door, passing her palm over the release and stepping out into the hall. There were crewmembers, pilots, and other members of their task force going about their business, but there was no sign of Garin, or the commandos he'd assigned to her. Inside of her, she wished that she could have one good swing at him again when he wasn't expecting it. She would fly with him, but she'd be damned if she'd forget any of this.

Garin's comlink buzzed and he rolled over on his cot, reaching for the offending device blearily.

"Durives."

He was greeted by Kindran's crips voice, "sir, we've just retrieved the last three probe droids, the techs have finished their analysis."

"And? Garin asked, his body tensing in excitement.

"We've found them."

Garin smiled and his heart raced with anticipation, "alright; officer briefing in twenty minutes in the Cave, and Kindran?"

"Sir?"

"Good work, and pass on my thanks to the techs as well."

"I will sir."

Garin sat up, keying the comlink again, "Toth?"

There was a groan and then a thud, "ugh…this had better be important, I've slept terribly."

"We've got them."

Then there was a woman's voice, "the probes came back positive sir?"

Garin blinked frowning at the comlink, "Major?"

There was a pause, "yes sir," for once the unshakable commando sounded embarrassed.

"Uh, I can explain Gar."

Garin shook his head, unsure whether he should be scowling or laughing. "I don't want to know, and I don't care so long as I still have my squadron XO and team leader able to do their jobs."

"Yes sir," Sissir responded, regaining her composure.

"No problem Gar, I can still beat the crap out of our boys in training."

Garin nodded, "officer meeting in twenty, the Cave."

He killed the com and shook his head, silently praising his foresight in giving Hades Wing's second spot to Harth as he pulled his boots on and left his quarters. He made his way through the _Knight_; leaving the crew quarters he encountered Captain Chapela, she joined his stride, walking in step as they headed towards the Cave.

"Orlis told you about the probes?"

Garin nodded, she continued. "I noticed that Lieutenant Sajuuk is back in the simulation schedule and on the active roster, is she fully recovered?"

Her voice held the obvious question and Garin smiled, "she's going to work with us for now. We'll have to see how she deals with her injury."

Their conversation moved to more mundane things, when they reached the Cave he paused, turning to look at her.

"Have you ever had to deal with personal relationships among your officers?"

She considered for a moment, he noticed that she looked uncomfortable and groaned internally. Had he just opened up a bottle that should have been kept closed?

"Yes sir, it has been an issue in the past."

He held up his hand for a moment as they stepped inside the CIC and moved to one side, away from any prying ears.

"Drop the ranks for a moment Iriana, I am asking for help, you've had more command experience and I consider you a friend. So as one friend to another, what should I do?"

Again her reaction was delayed as she considered once more. "So long as it doesn't interfere with operations, I've always allowed it. Once it becomes an issue though, it needs to be broken up immediately."

Garin nodded, glad that her opinions matched his own; "thank you Iriana, can I guess who it is?"

Her face reddened slightly, but she nodded, Garin smiled; "Orlis."

A smile of her own graced her normally calm features, "it is rather obvious I suppose. He was the only man at the academy who treated me as anything other than an inferior. After I obtained my captains pips I requested he be transferred to my command. Our relationship developed further after that."

"Don't worry," Garin said understandingly, "I'm happy that you've been able to keep him close and thank you for the advice…."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Wait," I scowled, why was she interrupting me? "You allowed fraternization amongst your crew?" She sounded like she'd never heard of anything quite so ludicrous in her entire life. That was her problem though, not mine.

"Like I said, as long as their relationships didn't interfere with our operations I wasn't going to begrudge anyone anything. Surviving suicide missions changes your outlook on a lot of military protocols, especially when you're then given free range of execution."

She stared at me in complete bafflement, "how in space did you manage to operate so successfully for so long with that kind of outlook?"

I shrugged, "it isn't like the Rebellion had it much better. From what I've read on the topic it seems like relationships cropped up between all kinds of people in your camp; everything from law enforcement and criminals to smugglers and princesses."

That didn't sit well with her and she glowered at me, "you were a professional military unit and you allowed that kind of behavior despite being the commanding officer."

"And next you'll tell me that you've never looked at a fellow officer and wondered what they look like naked."

From the deep crimson her face turned I'd either made her very angry, or very embarrassed. She really was fun when she tried; I took a sip of my water and let out a long sigh.

"I'll get back to the fighters…."

**Approximately six years earlier, deep space, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

Garin waited for everyone, there were of course his core officers, but in addition to them were the squadron executive officers and element leaders as well as the commando squad leaders. He nodded to Commander Kindran and the images from the probe droid appeared in the holotank. It showed a factory station surrounded by defensive platforms, space hangars, and storage facilities. There were several of the mystery TIEs patrolling around the station as well, if there had been any doubt about the validity of the target their presence erased it.

"This is what our probe found for us; our spooks have checked the Imperial registry and have confirmed that this facility does not appear on any authorized order. This does not however mean that it is not an Imperial facility so before we blow anything to hell Major Yvonne and her commandos will land aboard the main facility and obtain any information from the personnel and mainframe that they can. If they find nothing that says we should leave the facility intact we destroy it, and its satellites; I'll emphasize this again, if this is not a friendly facility, you are to destroy anything, and everything in the vicinity. We do not want to leave anything for them to use if they are pirates or Rebel elements."

"How do we go about neutralizing the defenses?" Matrin asked, his eyes darting over the images intently.

"Shadow and Wyvern will jump in with the Raptor assault shuttle element. Shadow will engage the defensive platforms and any fighter opposition. Wyvern will remain close to the shuttles and give the commandos cover."

As he spoke, the holotank projected the plan out in color coded images, green for the Imperial units, and a golden yellow for the facilities and fighters, signifying the unknown nature of their allegiance.

"The first wave of commandos will be in space armor and will secure the hangars and primary docking ring for further insertion. Once they are aboard the station Wyvern and Shadow will continue to provide cover and engage any threats to the commandos or the shuttles. I want everyone to be zealous in this, the shuttles and the commandos will be counting on us to give them the time they need."

Sissir snorted, Garin noted that she and Toth were standing a distance away and purposefully avoiding each other's eyes. "We're not defenseless sir, my men can nail a fighter in their space armor easily, and my shuttle pilots are damn fine gunners."

Garin nodded apologetically, "well we'll be there to provide your backup." He looked at Harth next. "Diamond will be on standby, if these aren't Imperials or if heavy support is in attendance then your job will be to jump in and blast everything in space that isn't us. Shadow will provide escort and Wyvern will join the fun once Raptor is clear of the combat zone."

Harth nodded quietly, Matrin and Kalan both looked delighted by the prospect of being given a target rich environment.

Garin looked around at his officers, "any questions?" There were none and he smiled, his excitement finally showing. "Alright people, let's go find our mystery fighters, brief your teams and assemble in the hangar."


	8. Chapter 8

**Approximately six years earlier, hyperspace, Outer-Rim territories**

Garin's eyes flicked open as the chime from his com board went off; he stretched and adjusted his flight suit, shifting in the sealed helmet. It was something they never taught in training: sleep whenever you get the chance, especially in hyperspace. After all it was one of the few times when you could rest without fear of missing something important, and if something important did happen, like running into an unexpected gravity well for instance, the computer would give you a few seconds of warning before it hit and that was all the time you really needed to prepare for what might be coming up. He waited as the tunnel of light collapsed into the vast, black starscape of space and swore.

"Oh stang, Shadow lead this is Shadow two, we've got Rebel fighters all over the place and what looks like an assault ship docked with the station. Those weird fighters are mixed in there two."

Garin could already see what Toth had described, Rebel craft darted this way and that, engaging the strange TIEs around the station, he counted about two-dozen Rebels and roughly double that in TIEs.

"Orders Shadow lead?" Vic'que asked forcefully.

Garin snapped into action, "Wyvern and Shadow squadrons throw up a screen, keep the Rebels and TIEs off Raptor element. Raptor I want you to jump back to the _Knight_, escape pattern sigma."

Sissir's voice came back, her annoyance evident. "Negative sir, my men and I can still make that station."

"Negative Major, I am not going to risk your men in a three way fight and especially not with a Rebel team already aboard the station. Jump to the _Knight _and keep your engines hot, we'll call you in once the area is clear."

There was a long pause and he could imagine the vexation Sissir would be feeling and could even visualize her grinding her teeth, then blessedly she responded.

"Copy that sir, Raptor returning home, pattern sigma."

"We have incoming A-wings," someone called out.

"All fighters engage, keep them off the shuttles."

He rammed his throttle to full and juiced up his shields and weapons, taking a bead on the oncoming fighters. A lock warning caused him to spin and the warning died away, brining his fighter back up, he had a clear shot at the underside of the nearest A-wing and let loose with a burst of cannon fire. The shields buckled after the first impact and the lasers tore a hole through the rear of the fighter, sending the engine-less craft spiraling into space. He rolled as laser fire grazed his shields and smiled tightly, thanking the fact that his craft actually had shields worth mentioning, unlike the A-wing's paltry defense. Another A-wing rocketed past him, he didn't try to catch it, nothing he had, Defender, Avenger, missile boat, or Starwing could catch an A-wing, but the Defender and Avenger could out maneuver it easily enough. So he focused on the next A-wing and paired off with another Defender, they both fired linked ion and laser cannons and he watched with a smile as the fighter disintegrated.

"Sir we have more Rebels and those TIEs coming in to play." One of his squad mates called out.

"Someone try and hail that station, if we can confirm them as friendly we might get those TIEs to leave us alone."

"This is Wyvern leader; I've had one of my pilots on it, no response."

Garin swore, though not because Vic'que had been ahead of him, because now they still had a three way fight on their hands.

"Alright, everyone stay close to your wing mates and stay alive, let's get this over with."

The battle that ensued was hectic at best, with Rebels, Imperials, and unknowns exchanging cannon fire. There were no sides to be taken really, with any of the three sides taking any shots they could to lower the odds stacked against them. After the first three minutes of fighting, Hades took its first casualties, losing three pilots in the space of thirty seconds, predominantly to the fact that it was such a furball, to Hades' credit, there wasn't a single fratricide, the same couldn't be said of the unknowns, they fired with ruthless abandon even if it meant blowing their own allies apart to get their target. Garin had very little time to dwell on the loses though as he was too busy fighting for his own life, then the TIEs broke away from the fight suddenly, pulling away into empty space as one.

"Hades break it off, let's see what's going on."

His fighters pulled away from the melee, and thankfully the Rebels seemed to have the same thought as they pulled away as well and headed back towards the station and their assault ship. Garin killed his engine and rotated his fighter to watch as the TIEs continued their dash to space, then a ship dropped into realspace, hanging in the blackness like some giant sea creature. He swore as dozens of the TIEs poured out from its hangars, and the ship had eight massive hangars.

"Oh spit me," Garin murmured as he watched the swarm of yellow gold blips appear on his sensors. Quickly he did a frequency scan until he found an active band that wasn't one of his and began transmitting.

"Attention Rebel craft, this is Hades Leader, it seems that we're here for the same thing and neither of us has the numbers to deal with it on our own. I have another squadron on standby. If you'll agree to a truce we can help each other."

"Sir, are you insane?" Vic'que's voice cut in across the channel.

"She's right boss, these are Rebels you're talking about dealing with." Toth said.

"Shut up both of you," Garin snarled, "I say again, Rebel fighters, do you wish to call a truce and deal with this threat together?"

There was no answer and Garin was resigning himself to dealing with a three way fight that had just gotten one sided when the com crackled.

"Hades Leader this is Flight Lieutenant Azzameen, callsign Red Seven, are you serious?"

Garin began transmitting again, "do you have dust in your ears Azzameen? I have enough problems at the moment without worrying about another team. I'm offering a truce, are you going to take the offer?"

There was silence again and Garin imagined that Azzameen conferring with his fellow pilots and possibly his chain of command. Garin hoped that the Rebel wouldn't deviate from standard procedures and avoid drawing his capital ship out in the open. If that happened, Hades wing would have to withdraw. He wasn't going to risk his people in a full on fleet engagement.

"Alright Hades Lead, we'll play ball. What do you want in exchange?"

"Same thing you do, we want to know more about these TIEs."

"They aren't Imperial?" A new voice cut in.

Garin scowled, "identify yourself if you're going to join in."

"2nd Lieutenant Olin Garn, callsign Red Three."

"Why aren't you in command*?"

"Because Ace decided to talk to you Imp," Garn replied snippily.

Garin didn't question further, "we don't know what they are. They have not responded to hails and have attacked Imperial and Civilian convoys. We consider them hostiles at this time."

"Copy that Hades Lead," Azzameen replied. "Our task force has the same objective, investigate and destroy. Looks like we're on the same side for the time being, call in your boys."

"Happy hunting Lieutenant," Garin sent a data burst to the Rebel fighter, "sending you a new frequency for joint operations."

"Received, lets finish this."

Garin switched back over to his wing channel and sent the same frequency to his pilots, then called in support from Diamond.

"Sir, I want it noted that I do not agree with this." Vic'que said dangerously.

"I understand Lieutenant, Toth I assume you feel the same?"

"Roger that Gar, I don't trust them."

"Neither do I but for now let's play nice."

"Hey, you've gotten us through alive before, I'm behind you."

There were no further protests and his fighters moved to join with the Rebel unit surrounding the station, the joint group was a strange thing to look at, comprised of TIE Avengers and Defenders, A, B, Y, and X –wings. Garin couldn't think of a much more dangerous group to go up against, and that was fine by him, they needed every bit of power he could get, he counted over eighty of the strange TIEs on his sensors. The two forces drew near, the first sign of their engagement were the missile and torpedo attacks as both sides launched their munitions from extreme range, the combined Rebel and Imperial force took no loses, between their shields, the jamming from the Rebel A-wings, and the copious amounts of flare and chaff discharges the TIEs missiles found no targets. They did not fair nearly as well, the missiles and torpedoes tore into their ranks, destroying a dozen craft outright and shattering their formation. Then the two sides clashed and another full on dogfight ensued.

This time Hades lost no one, the Rebels weren't best trained pilots ever it was true, but they were more dangerous than the remote controlled TIEs. Garin had noticed it before and again now that there was a delay in their reaction to any given tactic and he assumed that was due to the time it took for the order to transmit from the controller to the fighter. That delay was all the time his pilots needed to get an unfair edge on their target. The Rebels didn't fair as well, but they gave as good, if not better, than they got.

"Shadow Lead, this is Diamond Lead, we are in the combat zone, awaiting target confirmation."

"Glad you could make it Harth, Rebel craft are currently friendly; concentrate your munitions strikes on the capital ship. See if you can drive it off and maybe we can disable all these fighters in the process."

"Friendly Rebels," Matrin said in bewilderment, "I didn't know this was All Fools Day."

"Must have come early this year," Kalan supplied.

"I assume you both want to spend time in the duty crew back on the ship?" Harth said quietly.

"No sir," they said in chorus.

"Good, kill that cap."

"Lieutenant Azzameen, our bombers have joined the party, do your B and Y boys want to join in their assault?"

Azzameen's voice crackled over the com, "don't mind if they do, our pilots are moving to join yours. Thanks for the heads up Imp."

"Pleasure is mine Reb Sev, Wyvern, Shadow, shield Diamond and Rebel bombers, they're going to crack us a cap ship."

The combined bomber force closed on the enemy ship, the fighters did their job and kept the enemy off of them. Then Garin's sensors went crazy as hundreds of munitions appeared on the sensor and rocketed towards the capital ship. Laserfire lit up space around the ship as its point defenses came online and it tried to swat the incoming ordnance away. Some of the weapons were destroyed, but there were too many and the first began to impact on the shields, after the first two dozen or so odd impacts the shields collapsed and the hull began to take a pummeling. Then the ship blurred with pseudo motion and leapt to hyperspace before the remaining munitions could impact, as soon as it left the combat zone, over two thirds of the remaining TIEs went dead. The resulting minefield of dead ships killed about a third of the rest. The remaining handful of fighters that were still operative were quickly mopped up by the Rebels and Hades.

"You're not that bad for an Imperial." Garn said.

"And for a Rebel you've actually got some sense," Toth returned.

Garin ignored the chit-chat between the two sides and hailed Azzameen, "so what now Lieutenant?"

"Our commando team has finished their data dump and are set to go; are you going to stop us?"

Garin shrugged, even though he knew Azzameen couldn't see it, "you're free to go, we'll forget we saw each other."

"Copy that," there was a pause, and then Azzameen continued. "Stay off the station, I saw your shuttles from before, our boys rigged it to blow."

Garin swore, he'd wanted that data as well, "you wouldn't care to disarm the charges I assume?"

"Nothing doing Hades Lead, and you aren't getting the data either. Still going to let us go?"

Garin considered for a moment, with the addition of Diamond, his wing outnumbered and outgunned the Rebel forces easily, but they had agreed to a truce and had been vital in breaking the TIE attack. He sighed, letting his breath out slowly as he fumed silently.

"Get out of here before I change my mind."

"Copy that, good to work with you Hades."

The Rebel fighters formed up with the assault ship as it pulled away from the station, Garin watched as they jumped out, a moment later the station erupted.

"You getting soft Gar?" Toth said over their private channel.

"It was a good call sir." Harth said stoically, "though perhaps not the easiest one."

"Yeah, they did help us after all, and we got to slag those fighters in any case." Kalan said.

"Sure, but they really slimed us on that bomb gig, they could've at least given us the data in exchange," muttered Matrin.

"Aww, poor baby, did the mean old Rebel break your toy?" Kalan chided.

"Kal, Mat that work detail is in your future."

Both shut up at Harth's words, causing Garin to smile despite his sour mood; thankfully Vic'que didn't broadcast over the wing or officer channels though he didn't doubt that she had a lot that she wanted to say. He'd never given her the private channel he shared with his four friends.

He keyed his communications, "Iriana do you copy?"

"_Black Knight _here, reading you loud and clear Captain."

"Retrieve Raptor and jump to our coordinates," he looked out his viewscreen at the debris of the factory, the dead fighters, and the remaining storage and hangar facilities. "We have some salvage operations to run."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"I believe that was your first official and confirmed encounter with Hades wasn't it?"

She eyed me from across the table and didn't say anything, looking back down at her datapad.

"What made you decide to work with our forces?"

"Prudence," I said simply. "We might have been able to kill all of your forces and the TIEs and take down or capture your commandos, but how many of my people would I have lost in the process? It made sense to work together, granted if I had known that Azzameen was going to blow the station I might have had other ideas."

"Would it interest you to know what happened to him?"

"Azzameen?" I asked curiously, recalling the last time we'd seen each other, he'd shot me.

"Yes, he's here actually, so is Garn."

"Oh? Well I'm glad they're both still alive and well, they're good pilots; gives me the chance to shoot them still."

She looked at me strangely for a moment before continuing.

"You won't be shooting anyone again for a long time Commander, shall we continue."

I held up my cuffed hands, forestalling her, "two things: firstly my water is gone, secondly, I want these wrist cuffs off."

The look she gave me told me what she thought of that idea, but after a moment she reached for her comlink and spoke briefly; the orderly from before entered with another glass of water, and then drew a blaster, aiming it at my head.

I frowned, "what am I going to do?"

"I don't know that's why he's pointing the blaster at you."

She stood and walked around the table, reaching her hand down and keying the restraints on my wrists, they popped off and she put them on the table. I ran my fingers over my sore wrists with a smile. It felt so good to get those damned things off.

"Thank you very much." I said courteously.

The orderly waited until she was seated, and then left the room again, holstering his blaster.

"He'll be right outside that door if you do something stupid." She said coolly.

"I'll keep it in mind, shall we continue then?"

She nodded, I took a sip of water and went on.

*The reason Garin questions the chain of command is because Alliance Lieutenant Grades are thus from lowest to highest: Flight Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant, and 1st Lieutenant. So when a Flight is speaking for the Rebel forces instead of a 2nd it seems unusual.


	9. Chapter 9

**Approximately six years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_**, Outer Rim Territories**

"So what have you got for me Chief?"

Daru pulled herself out from under the fighter and lifted the scanner off her eyes.

"I can confirm a few things for you sir."

Garin knelt down besides her and looked at the underside of the TIE, "and those are?"

"They are built using Imperial methods and the quality of the material is the same standard as what you'd see on product model units, these aren't just slap-stick jobs, these came off the assembly line like this."

Garin's expression darkened, did that mean these were Imperial fighters? And if so, that meant he'd ordered his pilots to fire on an Imperial capital ship and assisted Rebels destroy an Imperial facility. The thought was troubling if true. If this was another of the Emperor's pet projects and he'd just blown it to dust, then even Thrawn wouldn't be able to protect him. The thought of dealing with the Emperor's fury sent a shiver down his spine. He looked down at Daru, if it came to that, he'd make sure it was just him that suffered, none of his people.

"Anything else you can tell me?"

She shook her head apologetically, "I can confirm that they are remotely piloted, but they have absolutely zero on their computers when it comes to information. Whoever is making these things doesn't want anyone to get anything from the craft themselves."

Garin's expression soured, Daru reached up and put a hand on his arm. "Its okay sir, you did the right thing, and everyone on this ship is behind you."

"I don't think doing the right thing will matter much if this project meant anything to the Emperor."

"If the right thing doesn't matter to him, then why are we fighting for him?" She asked quietly, her expression annoyed.

Garin's insides froze and he looked down at her, pulling himself away from her hand, "don't ever say that again Daru. You're too valuable as my crew chief to lose because you said something stupid."

Her smile vanished and she nodded tightly, "sorry sir. Was there anything else?"

"Did we get anything useful from the rest of the junk?"

She nodded, pulling herself to her feet and brushing her jump suit off. She tossed her leku around her shoulders and picked up a datapad from the workbench.

"We got a good haul actually, spare parts mostly but since these are TIEs those parts will be a big boost on our stores. There wasn't much else, some weapons and munitions; again we'll use them as spares."

Garin nodded, at least it hadn't been a total waste then, the extra parts would come in handy. Daru looked up, and she snapped into a salute, Garin turned to find Iriana joining them.

"At ease Chief," she said, Daru dropped the salute and returned to her work.

"Something come up?" Garin asked.

"I think the Rebels are going to be attacked sir."

Garin blinked, looking at her curiously. "Excuse me?"

"I had the techs scan their hyperspace trail; it was the same one they used when they jumped in."

"I'm missing something here I think." Garin said, feeling stupid.

"There are no signs along that path that they made multiple jumps."

Garin's eyes widened, "are you saying they jumped from their capital ship directly to that factory and back?"

Iriana nodded, handing him a datapad, he looked at the telemetry. "How accurate do you think this is?"

"I can back it up with every tech in CIC and on the bridge. I had all of them go over this."

"Those idiots," Garin murmured.

"They probably didn't expect to leave anyone behind that would be able to trace them."

"They could have made multiple jumps on the way back though."

"I doubt they had time to calculate a new route and they probably wanted to be as far away from you as possible in case you changed your mind about that truce."

"If we can track them, then there is no reason to think that our friends won't' be able to as well."

He thought for a moment, looking over at Daru thoughtfully before sighing and shaking his head, in for an inch, in for a light year.

"Emergency meeting, and have the bridge crew calculate a course to this position. We're going to help them."

She didn't question, merely smiled and nodded, getting on her comlink immediately and making the necessary calls. Garin looked back at Daru again, his mind racing with her words and his actions. This entire thing was getting out of control, but he was going to make the best of it that he could.

"Our goal in this operation is simple, jump in, assess the situation and if the Rebels really are in trouble, then we'll provide assistance."

"You have lost your mind." Vic'que said.

Garin saw several of his other officers nod agreement; he swallowed and stood up straighter.

"We may have just destroyed one of the Emperor's pet projects; if that is indeed the case then we could very quickly find ourselves being hunted by our own side. Should that happen the Rebellion may be our only hope of survival, that or selling ourselves off as corporate mercenaries or to a crime lord's service. Out of those options, I personally would take the Rebellion, especially if the Emperor is authorizing projects that target civilians indiscriminately like this fighter project seems to be doing."

There was a chilled silence as this sank in with everyone, glances were exchanged wordlessly, Garin let the silence drag on for a moment before continuing.

"I understand if some of you have your misgivings and if you do not wish to participate in this operation then I will fully understand. However I have already ordered the _Knight _to jump and we are en route now. Those of you that want to take part in this mission; I'll see you on the flight deck, those of you that choose to remain aboard the ship will not be lesser in my mind. In fact you might just be a whole lot smarter than I am."

Again the silence followed his words, it dragged on for minutes before Vic'que of all people finally spoke up. "You are probably going to get all of us killed, considering what you've already put me through I don't know if I can accept that."

He opened his mouth but she continued; "however," and here she smiled, though it was far from friendly. "I agreed to fly as part of this unit and work as a team. If we are a team, then we can't let you do this by yourself."

There was no pause or awkward silence this time, everyone nodded agreement and Garin let his breath out.

"Okay then, get to your fighters, if the techs are right then we'll be arriving shortly and we won't have time for a proper briefing."

Seven minutes later, Garin was suited up inside his Defender with the rest of Hades arrayed around him in the hangar. He watched as the sealed doors of the _Knight_'s hangar opened into space, when the space between the two halves of the door were two thirds open he revved his throttle and accelerated out into the void. The scene he came upon was insanity at its finest. The Rebel cruiser was maneuvering as only the Mon Cal designs could in an attempt to avoid the stream of ordnance being fired at it, between it and the incoming missiles fighters darted this way and that, beyond them Garin's sensors detected the escort shuttles controlling the enemy fighters. The most important part as far as Garin could see was that the Rebels were outnumbered five to one; thankfully none of the big hangar ships had made an appearance.

He began an open broadcast on all frequencies. "Attention Rebel command, this is Hades Lead, we are here to offer assistance."

"Unknown craft, identify yourself;" came a gravelly, watery voice, Garin guessed it was the mon cal commanding the cruiser.

"I say again, this is Hades Lead offering assistance."

"By your markings we see you as Imperial, why would you help us?" The voice asked suspiciously.

"We may have just destroyed a secret project funded by the Emperor, if it's all the same to you, we'd like to hedge our bets just in case we need your help in the future."

There was a long pause before the voice returned, "I presume this is the Blackened Rebels unit, so we finally meet…very well Hades Lead, you are marked as friendly on our targeting sensors. Feel free to join us."

"Thank you Captain. Alright Hades, we have authorization, lets slag some fighters. Diamond, I want you to engage those shuttles, Raptor you are to deploy and attempt to board and capture any shuttlecraft that you can, try and take the crews alive. Shadow and Wyvern, mix it up."

His pilots peeled off on their prospective tasks, he had been surprised to learn that every single member of his wing, and the entire crew of the _Black Knight _had agreed to go along with this. He'd expected many more to protest and opt out of helping the Rebels, but none had. Whether it was peer pressure or actual loyalty he had no idea. Even the newer pilots assigned to Diamond had come along, were they all just Rebels waiting to happen he wondered? It was possible Thrawn had thrown together a group of Imperial personnel all with the same misgivings and sentiments. It sounded absolutely ludicrous, and yet here they all were. Above him, the _Black Knight _opened fire with a missile barrage towards the fighters that had broken off to engage her and Hades. Garin switched on his own missiles and selected the nearest target, waiting for a solid tone and squeezing the firing stud. The missile was joined by others from his fighters and those from the _Knight. _

The enemy closed rapidly, their cannons flashing as they flashed through the missiles, though they were able to destroy some, many more of the weapons struck home and destroyed their intended targets. And then they were in the thick of it, dodging and weaving as lasers, ions, and the occasional missile or torpedo was exchanged. Garin counted three of the enemy for every one of his, the odds were terrible, but he'd committed to this, so there was no use complaining. Then red laserfire joined the green and A-wings, followed by X-wings joined the fray. For once Garin was glad to see the Rebel fighters and he gave a silent cheer for their arrival.

"Hades Lead, is that you?" A familiar voice called out.

"Hello again Lieutenant, hope you don't mind us cutting in."

Azzameen laughed, "they might, but please don't let that stop you."

Garin found Azzameen's X-wing and joined his wing, firing into the swarming fighters. They paired off again and reformed to make another pass through the cloud of enemies, and then a cluster of the TIEs went dead and began drifting.

"This is Gold Leader, we just knocked out one of those transports, happy hunting."

"Good work Gold Group," came the cruiser captain's voice.

The fight progressed like that for the remainder of its course, with the shuttles being slowly knocked out of commission and more and more of the enemy fighters going dead. Slowly the tide began to turn, of course by that time the controllers aboard the transports had called back many of their fighters to cover them and the fighting moved from the cruiser and the _Black Knight _to the transports. The battle lasted for forty-three minutes before the last of the enemy was finally destroyed. All tolled, Hades wing had one hundred and seventy-eight kills to seven losses. It stung to have lost his pilots, but it was a kill ratio Garin was proud of nonetheless.

"Attention Imperial forces, thank you for your assistance, what will you do now?"

Garin checked his scanner and noted that the Raptor transports had captured two of the controller shuttles intact, perhaps they'd give the answers he needed.

"We'll call it a day and be on our way Captain."

"I see, you mentioned before that the facility you helped our pilots take might have been run by the Emperor. If that is true, then wouldn't it be prudent for you and your men to join us?"

Garin considered for a moment, it was a decent offer, and the whole reason he'd decided to assist the Rebels was to assure an option for himself and his men. He still wanted answers though, and the only way he'd get them was if he stayed with the Empire.

"No thanks, but there is something you can do for me."

"And that is?" The Captain asked suspiciously.

"The data from the factory, I'd like to go over it. I think it holds the answers I need."

"If you decide to stay with the Empire what will you do?"

"Continue to serve Her as best as I am able." Garin responded.

"A good an answer as any I suppose, very well; I am transmitting the data to your ship. For both our sakes, I hope we never meet again. I am taking a tremendous risk in letting you leave you realize that I hope."

"No larger than the risk my men and I are already taking Captain."

"Good luck then Hades, you'll understand if I don't wish you happy hunting."

"Of course, same to you Captain. If this data does prove that we've destroyed legitimate Imperial targets, you might see us again sooner than you'd like."

The Captain chuckled, "well I suppose in that case, I hope you have destroyed an Imperial target. _Liberty _command out."

"So that's the _Liberty._" Toth said quietly, "she's pretty well known to the Empire. We could get a pardon if we took her down."

"If it's all the same to you Toth, I'd rather not slag the people we just saved."

Toth chuckled, "I'm just saying Gar, at least we have the data though. It might save our hides as surely as destroying the _Liberty._"

"Hades Lead, this is Red Seven, you there?"

"Copy Red Seven, what do you need Azzameen?"

"Nothing, just wanted to say it has been a pleasure flying with you."

"You too Lieutenant, try to hide yourself better next time."

Azzameen laughed, "we won't be making that mistake again, don't worry."

The _Liberty _retrieved the last of her fighters and jumped to hyperspace, leaving the _Black Knight _and Hades wing floating in a vast sea of debris and dead fighters. Garin hoped that between the transports and the data from the factory he'd get the answers he needed to save his people's skins.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So you voluntarily decided to help a Rebel command ship despite the fact that they were possibly being attacked by fellow Imperials?"

I nodded, at the time it had been the best course I could think of. "I was trying to secure the future of my people. I would have done anything to make sure they had somewhere to run to if it came down to running."

She considered her datapad's screen for a long time before she spoke again. "Deanna."

I frowned, "pardon?"

"Lieutenant Deanna Pardice, you asked what my name was before."

I blinked and smiled, nodding. "Commander Garin Durives, pleased to meet you Lieutenant Pardice."

She scowled, though it was a friendlier expression than it had been before. "I already know who you are Commander."

I shrugged, "it's all about being polite. I can't have you presenting yourself and not return the favor."

Deanna shook her head in bewilderment, a smile crossing her face, she really was quite lovely when she smiled I mused.

"What did you do once you found out who it was backing the project?"

"I contacted Thrawn, he ordered us to rendezvous with the _Avenger _and her task force at the second site where the TIEs were being built according to the data the _Liberty _gave us…."


	10. Chapter 10

**Approximately six years earlier, aboard the Victory Star Destroyer **_**Avenger, **_**Outer Rim Territories**

Garin stood silently in Thrawn's quarters as the Admiral looked out the viewscreen at the debris that had presumably been the mystery TIE production facility. Salvage operations were already being conducted by Thrawn's task force, the reason for Garin standing here was a far more personal matter.

"So you knowingly assisted Rebel forces in destroying a facility that, for all you knew, could have been run by the Emperor."

Thrawn's back remained turned, but Garin nodded nonetheless. "Yes Admiral, I take full responsibility for my actions. If there is any punishment, I accept the full burden of it."

"Protecting your people? Good," Garin saw the reflected smile in the plasteel as Thrawn continued to stare out into space. "I'm glad to see you're willing to stand up not only for your actions, but for you unit as well. Very few in the Empire's forces I've found are willing to risk their neck for such things. It is a quality that we are sadly lacking I'm afraid."

He turned to Garin, sitting down at his desk. "You've seen the data, and you know who was running the facility and this one which the Rebels beat us to?"

"A Grand Admiral named Zaarin."

Thrawn nodded, "you may or may not know this, but Zaarin is responsible for many of the innovations in fighter technology that the Empire has been enjoying. Everything from the original Avenger fighter and the newer Defender, to the Bomber and Interceptor; they are all products of his various research projects."

Garin swallowed, "so this was an official project?"

Thrawn smiled at him, steepling his fingers and leaning forwards. "No, it isn't. None of these experiments you've been fighting are official, and as far as I can discover, they are not unofficial either."

A frown crossed Garin's features as the implication hit him, "sir?"

Thrawn smiled again, and it spread to his eyes. "Yes Captain, Zaarin is developing a fighter force completely independently of the Empire. No one, not even Palpatine himself knows about this. What Zaarin intends to do with these experimentals is beyond me, however the fact that he has them at all constitutes an act of treason."

Garin sucked his breath in through his teeth, a Grand Admiral committing treason? That was ludicrous! There were only twelve Grands in the Empire, and they were all selected by the Emperor himself. For one of them to betray the trust the Emperor vested in them sounded impossible, and yet the evidence was there, though there was still a chance it could be a case of Thrawn missing something. Garin laughed at himself, Thrawn missing something? That was comical, his thoughts focused on the matter at hand.

"What do you intend to do Admiral?"

"For the moment, nothing, I've submitted my report, along with your report, to the Emperor. He will determine what we shall do."

Garin tensed, wondering how much was in that report, Thrawn must have noticed his ill ease because he waved his hand dismissively.

"I've kept your interaction with the Rebels out of it for obvious reasons; you've proven a valuable asset. I do not wish to lose a unit as gifted as yours."

Garin breathed a sigh of relief, "thank you sir."

"I do not begrudge you intelligence Captain. In the same situation, who is to say I would not make use of my enemy as well? After all, my enemy's enemy is my ally in many cases. However that is not what we need to talk about at the moment, we need to discuss your unit; firstly, your losses, I believe you've lost ten people?."

"We've lost ten ships," Garin corrected," three Defenders, four Avengers, and three Missile Boats. We lost seven pilots in total, from the TIEs, the Missile Boat pilots were able to eject."

Thrawn nodded, tapping keys on his terminal. "You will have noticed that there is a transport in my task force, it is carrying replacements for the ships you've lost as well as reinforcements. I will give you a roster of my task force pilots. You may make your selections from there. When all is said and done I expect your force to comprise four squadrons, one of Avengers, one of Defenders, one of Gunboats, and the final one of Missile Boats; in addition I am assigning five Blastboats to your command. Also, I'm assigning you an infantry regiment in addition to your commando unit, I believe the leader of your commandos is a Major; she will be in overall command of your troops. Is that acceptable?"

"I will have to consult with my XO and officers about the new craft and personnel, but there is certainly more than enough room aboard the _Knight._ May I ask why we're being reinforced?"

Thrawn nodded, smiling slightly. "I recall Arusi's refusal to transition to the Blastboat originally and I respect your men enough to allow them to make their own choices about ship types. As for the reason behind this upgrade, one because I want your unit to have more firepower and operating capacity in your traditional role, the other is because we may be going up against a Grand Admiral very soon if what you've found turns out to be what I think it is and if that happens you'll be part of my task force as a fleet unit and this complement is more suitable to that role."

"I understand Admiral."

"Good, now the other matter at hand. I received Lieutenant Sajuuk's report pertaining to you. She doesn't seem to put much stock in your abilities."

Garin simply nodded despite his discomfort, "yes sir, she expressed such to me."

Thrawn nodded, smiling with what Garin swore was enjoyment. "I looked over her report, and considering your interaction with the Rebels in this last engagement she might have a point." Garin felt himself starting to perspire, was he about to get the axe? "However, I disagree with her conclusion that you are unfit for command of Hades, I feel that your actions thus far have been exemplary and I can think of few officers with your limited experience that would have performed as well in the situation I have placed you in. So, provided that you and the Lieutenant can continue to serve together, I see no reason to remove you, or her, from Hades wing."

Garin nodded, "no sir, I am more than happy to leave her in command of second squadron."

Thrawn looked like some kind of large feline that had a saucer of milk before it. "Excellent, for the time being I want the _Black Knight _to remain with the task force. We need to await orders from the Emperor before we act further against Zaarin. I suggest, Captain, that you get some rest, I imagine your unit could use it."

Garin saluted, "thank you sir, I'll do that as soon as I have the new ships and pilots integrated into the unit."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So after you reported in to Thrawn you received a significant upgrade as far as firepower was concerned."

I shrugged, smiling slightly. "Well he was right, if we were going up against a Grand Admiral we needed all the help we could get. The new men complicated things a little bit more than I liked, but we did have plenty of room aboard the _Knight_. She was designed to carry four-hundred soldiers and three wings of fighters and support craft. Up until that point we'd had only one wing of fighters, two assault shuttles and some small utility transports with only eighty commandos. We had all the room we needed to add the additional men and material."

"Just so we're clear on something, Thrawn kept your collusion with the _Liberty _task force a secret from even the Emperor?"

I nodded, sitting a little straighter in my chair, "he protected us from everything he could, even ourselves when the situation called for it."

"So then you received your orders?"

I smiled, so they didn't know everything that had happened, or why it took so long for us to move against Zaarin. Well there were something's best left to mystery, Thrawn's promotion was one of them. Besides, I could easily skip over the details and create something entirely feasible.

"It took a while, and at some point along the chain Zaarin realized what was going on and moved before we could…."

**Approximately six years earlier, aboard the Victor Star Destroyer **_**Avenger,**_** Outer Rim Territories**

"It's good to be back with the rest of the unit sir." Garin said, stepping off the shuttle and onto the ramp.

Thrawn nodded silently as the rest of the guests aboard his shuttlecraft debarked. Toth stretched luxuriously. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't wait to get back aboard the _Knight_."

Vic'que jabbed an elbow and glowered at him reproachfully, Toth shut up immediately as Thrawn turned to look at the pair appraisingly. He scanned the small entourage.

"Just so we are clear, no one outside of those who were at that ceremony are to know."

Everyone nodded and a chorus of 'yes sirs' answered him. Thrawn nodded his approval; "we will be waiting here until the rest of our task force arrives. We have been given a rather sizeable fleet to deal with this threat. Though we will, in all likelihood still be outnumbered. I will be counting on your unconventional tactics to help us prevail. Now, Captain, Lieutenants, report back to your ship and await further orders."

They saluted a final time as Thrawn turned to leave them; Garin glanced as his friends and nodded back towards the shuttle.

"And back we go," Matrin said with a smile, "home again home again--"

"--jiggery jig," Kalan finished with the same smile.

"Remind me to assign the pair of you extra training duties." Harth said.

"Yes sir!" Matrin chimed in.

As they boarded the shuttle Garin took a seat besides Toth, "nervous Lieutenant?"

"Who wouldn't be? I just got assigned my own squadron for no apparent reason other than we needed someone to command it."

"Sounds like a perfectly good reason to me." Matrin supplied.

"Just remember to remain sober while on duty and you'll do well." Harth said coldly, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed.

"Gee thanks for your support," muttered Toth.

"Stop complaining Luixana," Vic'que said, despite being the only member of the current group not on a first name basis with the others she still mouthed off to all of them like she was.

"Well excuse me, I don't like being responsible for the lives of this many people, for that matter I don't like being responsible."

"Which makes me wonder how you got to be the Captain's exec," Harth muttered stoically.

"My infinite charms," Toth said with a grin.

"I'm sure the Major appreciates that more than most of us." Vic'que said coldly.

There was a sudden silence that settled over the group and everyone exchanged glances; that comment had just taken the conversation out of the realm of jest and into a more personal area that no one wanted to joke about.

"Alright, that's enough." Harth said, he held the highest rank of everyone barring Garin, and Garin was grateful his executive officer knew how to shut people up easily with his dangerous tone. "Lets all concentrate on our own affairs before we worry about everyone else."

The shuttle lifted off from the _Avenger_'s hangar and they began the short trip to the _Knight_ in silence, the feeling of animosity directed towards Vic'que was almost palpable.

"Do you think Toth can handle the new squadron?" Garin asked seriously as he looked over the latest personnel assignments.

"He's a solid combat officer, and he's done well as Shadow Squadron's XO," Harth said considering quietly as he looked over his own datapad. "He should be fine, and if not we can always give the squad to another officer."

"Practical as always, are you satisfied with the organization of the Skiprays?"

"They're light corvettes; they're better armed than most corvettes. I still have the same objection to them that I did before; they're too crew intensive for little purpose."

"They've got one of the most diverse armaments of any of our craft Harth," Garin reminded him.

"True, but they add no additional capability to our unit, your Defenders are already capable of performing any mission that they can barring capital ship assault, and especially with the addition of the fourth squadron equipped with Star Wings, it makes them redundant."

"So how do you suggest we use them?"

"As escort for the _Knight _and Razor team for now, if we really need them on heavier missions they can be used as heavy support for the assault shuttles."

Garin snorted, "those pilots are not going to be happy being assigned escort duty."

"They can either get used to it, or transfer as far as I'm concerned." Harth said without missing a beat.

"Diamond One indeed," Garin said with a smile, "why didn't you transfer Kal and Mat to the Skiprays? We could use a more experienced officer corps leading that unit."

Harth shrugged laconically, "their skills would be wasted, they are bomber pilots, pure and simple. I don't want to lose their skills to some pointless rear-guard unit."

Garin chuckled and shook his head, keeping his own opinions about why Harth kept the pair in Diamond. He'd be lonely without the pair of them to harass when they misbehaved or got too annoying. Of course that was just Garin's suspicion and he had no way to confirm it since Harth would never admit to something like that.

He frowned as he looked over the data before him, "has Toth given you the name for the new squadron yet?"

Harth looked up at him appraisingly, "yes, and he selected one for the Skiprays as well while he was at it."

"Of course," Garin said with a shake of his head. "What are they?"

"The Assault Gunboat unit is now callsign Gorgon, the Skiprays are Mantis."

"Well at least he stayed with reason for a change." Garin muttered with a smile.

"He wanted to call his unit the Drunken Banshees." Harth replied with a raised brow, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Garin winced and pinched the bridge of his nose, "okay, I think I'll need a drink to cure me of the headache that just caused."

He reached down to his cooled drawer and brought out his latest acquisition, courtesy of Toth no less, a Chandrillian Ale his friend had come across at some point in the last few weeks they'd been stationed with Thrawn's task force waiting for their reinforcements. He pulled out a pair of glasses and poured both, handing one to Harth who eyed it suspiciously.

"Don't make me order you, I'm not going to drink alone, and besides," he added, putting the bottle away. "One glass isn't going to get either of us drunk and you know it."

Harth snorted and took the offered glass, eying the amber liquor dubiously. "I submit that I do this under protest."

"So noted, cheers Lieutenant Arusi," Garin threw back his drink and placed it on the desk.

Harth raised his glass in turn, "and to you Captain Durives," and threw down his own drink before placing the glass next to Garin's. He winced a little and smacked his lips, "that is stiff, what in space did he put in it?"

Garin nodded clearing his head before he spoke. "I have no idea, but I stand by just one glass of it."

"Agreed sir, I will leave the drunk and disorderly to Toth if it's all the same to you."

Garin was going to make a further comment about it when his door shot open and without so much as a salute or an 'excuse me sir' Vic'que burst into the room.

"Have you seen?" She asked her tone hard and acidic.

Harth and Garin exchanged looks, "seen what _2__nd_ Lieutenant?" Harth asked, emphasizing their rank difference rather pointedly.

She didn't react though, instead handing him the datapad she was clutching with white knuckles.

Harth took it and eyed it momentarily, his eyebrows raising speculatively. "Oh," was all he said before handing the pad to Garin.

Garin took it from him and looked, his reaction was more verbose than Harth's, he looked up at Vic'que he hadn't realized she was blonde there as well. He had a feeling he might need another drink considering the expression she had on her face, someone was going to need bacta.


	11. Extra: The Black Knight

**The **_**Black Knight **_**and the Vindicator-class Heavy Cruiser**

Since I've gotten a few questions about the _Black Knight _and how I can justify its compliment and capabilities. I decided that it would be a good idea to add this in. So I hope you enjoy as I show you how this ship was created.

At the start of the Clone Wars the Republic Fleet consisted predominantly of Acclamator-class Assault Ships and Venator-class Star Destroyers (to my knowledge these are the first two vessels that can be recognized as the precursors to the modern Star Destroyers). Near the end of the war other, larger warships such as the Victory, Imperator/Imperial, and Tector –classes of Star Destroyer were introduced to the fleet to provide more powerful ship to ship capabilities. When the Republic was reformed into the Empire at the conclusion of the Clone Wars, both the Venator and Acclamator were slowly phased out in favor of the newer warships. However as the Empire grew in power and policing actions became more common the Imperial Fleet realized that it couldn't afford to send Star Destroyers to every system and it was decided to design a scaled down version of the Star Destroyer. Thus the Vindicator-class heavy cruiser was born, a smaller warship that bears passing resemblances to its larger Star Destroyer stable mates that could operate on its own or in small task forces and take care of all the hotspots that didn't warrant the presence of a full sized Star Destroyer.

When I started work on the original story that became Hades Wing I needed a ship for the wing to operate off of. Originally I went for a variant of the Strike-class cruiser but as the story progressed I realized that this ship did not fulfill the needed role and while versatile was not able to allow independent operations for extended cruises which was what I needed for my story. So I did some digging and discovered the Immobilizer 418 Cruiser, better known as the Interdictor Cruiser, which was apparently based off a Heavy Cruiser design. This seemed to fit my needs nicely as I didn't want the wing to have a full on Star Destroyer, even one of the smaller Victory-classes (at the time I didn't know about the Venator-class which is roughly the same size but even if I had the type would already be phased out by the time my story takes place). So I decided to create the Heavy Cruiser design that the Interdictor was based off of and the original _Black Knight _was born, able to carry a full wing of fighters (an Imperial Fleet wing is 72 fighters/bombers/scouts while an Army wing is smaller, consisting of 40 fighters/bombers/scouts) as well as a troop compliment and operate separately for extended cruises.

Later, when I started to revisit the original idea for Hades Wing, I found the Vindicator-class, the actual ship type that the Interdictor was based off of. Surprisingly I found that the type was nearly identical to the design I had envisaged. A compact well armed ship that could carry a large craft compliment in addition to ground troops and was able to operate solo for extended periods. So when I finally began work on the re-imagined story I decided to make the Black _Knight _this class instead of one of my own imagining. The Vindicator-class can carry a full fleet wing (six squadrons) in addition to various support craft. On top of that it can carry 400 soldiers. Finally, while it was not as heavily armed as say the Victory-class (it is also much smaller, the Victory is 900 meters and the Vindicator is 600), it was armed well enough to deal with virtually every Rebel Alliance ship barring a Mon Cal or Bulwark cruiser. These specifications fit my needs perfectly and so the _Black Knight _was born into its current configuration and blessedly within canon which pleased me to no end.

I might also add that I snafued at the start of Hades Wing, the frigate that Garin and his friend's are deployed on is a Nebulon-B2 frigate, a sturdier version of the earlier Nebulon-B frigate (which is the ship that The Empire Strikes Back ends on, that same ship later reappears in Return of the Jedi) at the original time of writing the story I didn't know what the ship class was called so I created my own name and unfortunately forgot to change it when I published it here.

Author's Note: for those that were hoping for an actual chapter, never fear, chapter 11 is well underway and will be up in the next few days.


	12. Chapter 11

**Approximately six years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_**, Outer Rim Territories**

"I just need to know how it got into the system and how far it's spread," Garin said, leaning over the tech's shoulder and staring at the computer screen.

"Does it really matter sir? I mean it's ju—" the tech's comment was cut short by the expression shot him. "Sorry sir, it's limited to the ship, every personal datapad and terminal has been sent the footage."

"There's nothing more dangerous than the images I assume?"

"Its just some two-dimensional motion shots of Lieutenant Sajuuk sir, nothing more."

"Alright, I want it purged from the entire network."

The tech looked miserable, "sir that could take hou—"

"Do it; right now, get help if you need it, but I want those files erased."

Garin stood up and left the tech to his task, stalking around the perimeter of the Cave considering this bit of trouble. Personally he didn't care that someone had snuck an old camera into Vic'que's shower, that wasn't the part that bothered him. What made him worry was the potential loss of unit cohesion that could be caused by a lack of respect. He knew that despite the tech's complaints, it would be taken care of, even if it did take hours. Now he just had to find out who had taken the video and deal with them, he still wasn't sure what he'd do with the culprit or culprits once he found them, but work detail and transfer out of the unit came to mind. They were in the midst of preparing for Hades' biggest operation and he didn't need clowns pulling practical jokes now; especially with all the new personnel coming aboard and finding their niche within the unit. The video stood to severely undercut Vic'que's authority and she was already considered a bit of a loose cannon by most of the unit.

He made his way to the hangar deck, the smell of weapons gas, ozone, and charged ions greeted his nostrils as he stepped out into the bustling chamber. The new craft were already berthed and others had been rolled out for routine maintenance. He began walking amongst the strike craft, being careful not to interrupt any of the mechanics, technicians, weapons crews, or supply crews as they did their work. After a year of serving with him, they'd grown used to his visits and they were no longer reason for concern, everyone understood that he simply came here when he needed to get away from the duties of command and simply wanted to pretend he was just a pilot again. He paused in front of a Defender, it wasn't his but he ran his hand over the nearest solar paneled wing, tracing the lines of the surface thoughtfully.

"Credit for your thoughts…sir?"

He turned to see Daru standing behind him eying him curiously.

"Just thinking Chief," He said off-handedly.

"I can see that," she said, her lekku twitching back and forth. He knew that their movement could signify all kinds of things, from emotions, to internal thoughts, and even serve as a form of communication. That didn't mean he understood any of it.

She moved past him, picking up the toolset that sat by the fighter and clambering up onto a wing and straddling the support pylon. She set the repulsor on the toolset and began her work on the pylon.

"Some of the Defenders have been having issues with the power couplings from the panels to the cockpit, happens from time to time with any design that relies on solar power sources situated away from the desired systems."

Garin nodded, ducking around the wing and leaning against the bulbous cockpit, "have the Avengers been operating properly?"

"No problems that I've heard about, I'm just having my crews check over all the Defenders in case the problem is universal since we did get them all in the same batch with the exception of those replacements we just received."

"Speaking of replacements, have you been able to deal with the influx?"

Daru snorted as she pulled herself up the starboard pylon, the toolset following her lazily as she began checking the central pylon.

"I've got one of the best deck crews in the Fleet sir, if we can't handle a few extra hulls then no one can." She paused and looked down at him with a smile, "it is nice to be working on the Star Wing again though; those beauties don't have half the issues that the TIE models do even if they are outmatched by the Defender."

"What about the Skiprays, any issues with those?"

"Aside from not enough of my people being qualified to work on them, no, and that won't be a problem for long. I'm doing everything I can to make sure we have a universal qualification for everyone."

"Meaning," Garin asked, looking up at her over the rim of the cockpit.

"That I have my people cycling through ship-types so that we can work on anything we have in the hangar."

She finished checking the central pylon and shimmied around to the port pylon, Garin walked around the cockpit following her.

"How on earth did you get away from your last commander Chief? I can't imagine anyone wanting to lose your skills."

She paused in her work, her body tensing as her lekku twitched and swayed, "my last 'commander' was an Imperial bureaucrat that thought I'd look nice dressed in underwear two sizes too small and hanging on his arm whenever he went out to social events. I was lucky the Hutt slime let me wear a gown over it when we went out, even if it was see-through, it let me have some dignity."

Garin winced; he'd walked right into that one. Though the image of Daru's slender and trimmed form walking around barely clad wasn't unpleasant, that she'd been forced to do it bothered him. Before meeting Thrawn, and the handful of non-humans, and half-humans that served aboard the _Knight _he might have found such behavior normal. After all he'd grown up on Coruscant, such things were fairly commonplace and he'd always bought the Imperial viewpoint of humans being better. After serving alongside individuals like Daru and some of his pilots and other crewmembers he no longer believed in that superiority.

"How did you end up a chief mechanic on a cruiser then?"

"Thrawn," she said simply, continuing her work.

That made sense, it seemed that everyone in this unit owed something to Thrawn, Garin had to wonder about that, and if it said anything about Thrawn's intentions or motivations.

Daru's voice brought him back out of his thoughts, "it was a dinner at the Imperial Palace, my master had stepped away, to be seen with some important official, Thrawn was there and he started speaking with me." She finished checking the pylon and swung her legs over the pylon, looking down at Garin as she put her tools back in the toolset. "Catch," she said as she dropped off the pylon, Garin was pleased to say that he was able to catch her as she fell; he was surprised to find how supple her body felt beneath his fingers, they stayed like that for a moment before she smiled at him.

"You can put me down sir."

He did so, and followed her behind the first Defender and to another behind it; a repulsor crane came around and plucked the first fighter off the deck to take it back to the launching racks.

"So what did you talk about?"

She shrugged, climbing up onto the port pylon, "at first nothing much. I thought he just wanted company and since I was one of the only non-humans there and we both had blue skin I thought that I must have reminded him of home. That and the white uniform with captains pips made sure I couldn't refuse even if I'd wanted to, but don't get me wrong, that another non-human was talking to me was the highlight of the evening."

The toolset floated up besides her and she opened the maintenance hatch to begin her work. "We spoke for so long that I thought he was trying to get me alone with him, he wouldn't have been the first Imperial at those parties to want some privacy with me." She paused, frowning at the panel she had opened, taking another tool out and going back to work. "This power coupling is hardly even connected, I don't even see how it got off the assembly line; no wonder it's been having power issues. Less than half the power from this wing is even getting to the cockpit."

She fussed over the offending coupling for a moment before she returned to her story. "After about half an hour the conversation turned from social to technical, I mentioned that when I wasn't entertaining my master I liked to spend time in his private garage and get impromptu lessons from the mechanic in charge of maintaining his air cars, speeders, and what have you."

"That caught his attention?"

She shrugged, closing the hatch and moving up the central pylon. "It must have, my master came back then and took me away, but three days later some Fleet troopers showed up with orders for my release into their custody. My master was outraged and of course protested but there was something in the order must have scared him because after they showed him the document he was only too happy to let me go."

"Must have been surprising," Garin said, leaning against the front of the cockpit module.

"It was terrifying; they stuck me in a Navy air car and didn't say one word the entire time. When we finally stopped they took me out and escorted me through Fleet Command dressed in the last thing my master had me put on, I was so ashamed."

Garin tried to imagine being an alien and walking through Fleet Command in undersized underwear, he couldn't do it, but he believed that she must have been miserable.

"They took me to a small office, sat me down, and left. I was completely terrified and had no idea what to expect. Finally though, I heard voices, the door opened again and a commander strode into the room followed by Thrawn. I didn't know what was happening but when the commander said: 'I understand your sentimentality Captain, if she's as good as she looks then she's being wasted on some fat politician, even if she is a tail-head.' I didn't know what to think, but Thrawn put his hand on my shoulder and that gave me much more confidence. I thought that he'd taken a liking to me and I was going to be his consort from then on, I didn't think that Thrawn could possibly be worse than my master considering how friendly he'd been at the party."

Garin turned and looked up at her as she opened up the cockpit and dropped inside, he watched her through the viewscreen as she continued to work.

"How old were you when this happened?"

She didn't miss a beat, nor did she look up from her job. "Sixteen, my first master bought me from my parents when I was thirteen and I was resold to that Imperial when I was fifteen."

Despite living in lower-income regions on Coruscant he still registered surprise and disgust at how a little girl could have been treated like cattle.

She continued as she ran diagnostics in the cockpit, "after Thrawn took me with him, we went up to his ship in orbit around the planet. The first thing he did once we were aboard was give me my own cabin and some decent clothes." She smiled at the memory, "I wasn't sure what to expect by that point, but the next day he introduced me to the _Avenger_'s chief, a hold over from the Clone Wars who didn't have any of the preconceptions about non-humans. Thrawn told me that I would be studying under him from that point onwards; I learned quickly and soon even surpassed my tutor. I spent the next few years with Thrawn aboard the _Avenger _before he ordered my transfer to this unit."

"Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?"

"Being aboard the _Avenger_," Garin wondered just how deeply her feelings for Thrawn ran as he asked the question.

She looked up from her job then, eying him with a smile that made her face shine despite the grime from her duties.

"I'm CDO aboard a heavy cruiser that operates outside of the normal chain of command and get to work on the best fighters in the galaxy while I'm at it. Sir, this is a dream."

Garin snorted; yes he supposed that would be a dream for woman raised as a slave for half her adolescence. Daru climbed out of the cockpit and moved to the final pylon, Garin followed her.

"How do you feel about serving a force that discriminates against non-humans? Even oppresses them?"

Now she paused, both in her speech, and in her work. The silence seemed to drag on for minutes when it only lasted a matter of seconds. Finally, she looked down at him, her expression calm; even as her voice dropped to a near whisper, he had to strain to hear her.

"Garin, what I said before, when we thought that we might be attacking legitimate Imperial forces, I meant it. If the Emperor ever betrays what little faith I have in this system, I won't feel any remorse about changing sides."

She leaned down towards him, "you, Thrawn, this unit, you're all my family and all that matters to me. The Empire can hang itself for all I care. So long as I have a place to call home with people I can respect and I know respect me, the politics of why we're fighting don't mean anything to me."

He thought about warning her again, like he had before but decided against it, he could see in her eyes that she meant every word of what she said so he simply nodded his understanding. He reached up, offering his hand to her; she took it and squeezed it tightly.

"You'll always be welcome in my crew Daru, you've proven repeatedly that you're worthy of the respect everyone aboard the ship gives you."

Still holding his hand, she nodded with a smile. "I know Garin, that's why I'm still here."

The moment might have lasted forever if his comlink hadn't buzzed, and even then they didn't release their hold on each other until she nodded at his waist.

"You're beeping."

He scowled and reached for the link, Daru released his hand and got back to work.

"Durives."

"Sir, its Harth. I'll be in your cabin."

Garin frowned, looking up at Daru again before walking away from the Defender and heading towards the hangar exit.

"What is it?"

"I've found our pranksters."

Garin blinked, "plural?"

"Yes sir, two of them, a very specific two as a matter of fact."

Garin groaned and shook his head, hoping that it wasn't who he thought it was.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"I can't believe you had that conversation," Deanna murmured, shaking her head.

I shrugged, "it wasn't the most comfortable one I ever had, especially with an Admiral only a few kilometers distant."

"One thing I don't understand," she said, looking over her notes. "You've said multiple times that you wouldn't support the Emperor if you knew that he was targeting civilians indiscriminately; how could you not have known that he was ordering just that; especially with the destruction of Alderaan?"

"No one in the fleet knew anything about Alderaan or the Death Star, rumors abounded about what exactly had happened and even those rumors were kept fairly quiet. Originally the story was that Rebel's had stolen a mining station designed to crack planet sized asteroids and fired it on Alderaan when the Empire would not give in to their demands, and that it was destroyed, not by Rebels but by an Imperial counter-attack when the Rebellion had tried to hide in the Yavin system. After that rumor proved false it was stated that saboteurs had fired the Death Star's laser and destroyed Alderaan rather than Tarkin. It wasn't until the Battle of Endor and its aftermath that I learned what had happened and really began to question things."

"Yet you were ready to join the Rebellion despite being unsure if they were responsible for Alderaan or not."

Again I shrugged; being able to move my hands around freely was such a relief. "There were so many rumors about what had happened I just pushed it to the back of my mind; I didn't know who had fired the weapon. Only that if I ever found out, I would do everything I could to make sure they never did again. Of course I learned later that everyone who has ever been responsible for firing the superlaser had died aboard either the first or second Death Star. As for joining the Rebellion, yes, if it meant keeping my people alive I'd go along with anything, it was a better alternative than going mercenary or working for a crime syndicate."

She considered me thoughtfully for a moment before tapping her datapad, "let's continue with the Zaarin campaign, when operations start?"

"They didn't, we hadn't realized it, but Zaarin had already found out that we knew about him and moved first…."


	13. Chapter 12

**Approximately six years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_**, Outer Rim Territories**

Garin scowled at the trio as he entered his cabin. It had to be who he'd suspected, just his luck. Now he had to deal with the added problem of partiality.

"I don't really want to ask why you pulled this stunt, especially now with all the new transfers and replacements. I can only assume that you weren't thinking straight."

Kalan and Matrin exchanged glances briefly before looking back at Harth stranding behind them, and then to Garin in front of them as he took a seat at his desk.

"Sorry sir." Matrin said tightly.

"Sorry doesn't help; you do realize that you've basically made Sajuuk look like an idiot in front of all the new members of the unit?"

"Not our fault that she is an idiot." Muttered Kalan, Harth rapped him on the back of the head, Kalan glared at him, "well she is."

"The damage is done, and we're trying to repair it. I'm going to let Harth deal with the pair of yo—"

He was interrupted by a buzzing and he punched his desk terminal in annoyance, Thrawn's face appeared on the screen, Garin saluted hastily.

"Admiral, what can I do for you?"

"Is your ship fully ready?"

"Yes sir, we have a little mess in the hangar deck, but we're able to launch and retrieve fighters."

"Good, I'm sending you coordinates, I need you to assist part of our task force, they are being attacked by what we assume are Zaarin's forces, all ships are docked with the station and it will take at least twenty minutes before any of them are ready to jump."

Zaarin was already moving? That wasn't good.

"We'll launch at once Admiral."

"Good, we need those ships Captain, I trust you to bring them to us."

Thrawn's tone said that failure would not be an option here, roughly a third of the task force had arrived, the other two thirds still in transit. That Zaarin was already attacking these incoming ships was not good. If he was able to pick off their units before they could meet up then there would be hell to pay.

He looked up at his three friends, his expression annoyed. "You two get a stay of execution, get to your ships."

They left in a hurry; Harth glanced at Garin for a moment. "I assume you'll let me take care of the rest?"

Garin nodded as he pulled up his comlink, "Irianna?"

"Here sir," came Captain Chapela's voice.

"I've sent coordinates to your terminal; the _Black Knight _will jump immediately and engage all targets in the area. Shadwo, Wyvern, Diamond, Gorgon, and Mantis units will provide support."

"Understood sir, sounding general quarters," before she even finished, the battle alert began to sound throughout the ship.

Garin killed the comlink and dashed out of the room, heading for the pilot dressing room. When he arrived others were already there, he pulled on his jumpsuit and fitted his life support system to his chest, clipping his helmet to his waist.

Vic'que joined him, casting him a baleful glance. "You found them I heard?"

"Word travels fast," Garin said, finishing securing his suit and heading for the door.

She followed after him, matching his jog with her own stride. "And what are you doing about them?"

"They're being taken care of."

"That's not good enough sir, I demand that my honor be restored."

They reached the turbolift that allowed the pilots access to the launch racks, Garin turned to glare at Vic'que.

"We are jumping into a combat zone, your honor can, and will, wait Lieutenant. Their squadron commander will deal with them and you will like the results or I'll break both legs this time."

Her lips formed a thin, white line but she nodded tersely, pushing past him as the doors opened, heading for her squadron's berths. Garin ran to his own fighter, dropping down the ladder into the open cockpit and checking over his systems. His sensors told him that the ship was already in hyperspace and that they'd be arriving in three minutes, Zaarin had certainly hit the incoming group close to the rest of the force. It was a gamble he'd played masterfully. Garin hoped that there was still time to save the incoming ships; his hands paused in their furious movement as he noticed the small holopad sitting on the console. He tapped it, and the message _Good Luck Sir_. Appeared in shimmering letters, he tapped it again, switching the pad off before anything else manifested, tucking it into a utility pocket on his suite.

"All pilots, the _Knight _will be exiting hyperspace in one minute, thirty seconds, prepare to launch."

Kindran's voice brought his heart rate up, and Garin smiled in anticipation, the prospect of a battle had relieved the annoyance that Vic'que, Kalan, and Matrin had caused and he felt ready for anything that Zaarin threw at them.

"Fighters, launch." Kindran said tonelessly, Garin noted that it was a minute too soon for them to have dropped, Zaarin must have an Interdictor in the region.

The bay doors opened, and his Defender dropped into space, all around him, other fighters from Hades dropped as well, the squadrons formed up and moved away from the _Knight_. The scene that greeted Garin caused him to curse, this was no raiding party it was a full blown battle fleet. There were three Star Destroyers, one of which was an Interdictor, the other two were Mark Two Imperials, and those alone were better armed than anything Thrawn had in his task force currently. There were some smaller craft, corvettes, frigates and cruisers, he counted seven in total but they weren't the ones he was worried about.

"Diamond Lead engage at your discretion, but try to knock out those Star Destroyers if you're able. Concentrate on the Interdictor; we need to be able to run if it comes down to it. _Black Knight_ engage those capital ships, but recommend that you stay clear of those Destroyers. Mantis, concentrate your attacks on the smaller capital ships, see if you can loosen their control of the area, all other units engage the enemy fighters."

"_Black Knight _acknowledges, you have incoming fighters, good luck and happy hunting Hades."

The inter-squadron chatter began then, and Garin switched to his squadron channel to concentrate on its operations, Vic'que, Harth, and Toth could handle their own units, and if anything required his attention the _Knight _would route it over his com board for him. He targeted the nearest of the oncoming TIEs, he didn't think that he'd have much trouble considering that these all seemed to be standard fighters, they were no match for any of the craft his unit fielded. He fired dual linked lasers and watched in surprise as the oncoming Interceptor kept coming and then fired a burst of its own before breaking contact. He checked his boards briefly as he rolled in pursuit and followed after the craft. The Interceptor was highly maneuverable, however the Defender was more and just as fast, the match should have been one sided.

His sensors reported no shields on the craft and he fired again and watched as his shots splashed off the shields that should not have been there. He swore and broke contact, peeling away as the Interceptor's wingmen began firing into his aft.

"All craft, enemy is equipped with shields, I repeat they are using some kind of shield that does not show up on sensors, watch yourselves."

"Shadow leader this is Wyvern leader, the shields have already been noted. They do not extend beyond the hull. It appears to be some kind of reflective magnetic hull plating; missiles will penetrate easily though energy weapons are absorbed until the shield is penetrated. Try and keep up sir."

Garin shook his head at Vic'que's holier than thou tone but acknowledged nonetheless, "copy that Wyvern lead, thanks for the heads up."

He switched to missiles and swung his craft around in a narrow arc that put him on the tail of the nearest Interceptor, he squeezed the firing studs as his tone went solid, the concussion missile streaked out and the Interceptor fired flares and chaff, but the distance was so close that they had little effect. The missile hit dead center and the Interceptor disintegrated in the brief explosion. Laserfire lanced passed him, some of it splashed on his shields as he sped through the debris that had been his opponent, his own wingman shot by on a head-to-head pass, all six cannons firing rapidly, the fire from behind Garin ceased and his sensors showed two kills had been made. He turned his craft back to the dogfight, watching as the _Knight _closed with two frigates and a light cruiser, the trio opened fire but the heavy cruiser simply shrugged it off, opening up with its turbolasers, one frigate was blown in half under the concentrated barrage, the other's shields folded and holes began appearing on its hull.

The light cruiser tried to move to the opposite side of the _Knight _in an attempt to tax her weapons crews but the heavy cruiser merely rolled and concentrated its firepower on the undamaged cruiser, Garin saw Mantis move in and pick the remaining frigate apart and smiled as the ship began to break apart under the concentrated torpedo attack from the blastboats. The only comparable ship in the current engagement that could pose a serious threat to the _Knight _were the two Strike-classes he'd noticed in Zaarin's force but they were engaging the ships of the task force at the moment, giving the _Knight _free reign amongst the enemy's smaller vessels. Garin found another target and formed with the rest of his flight, the two other Defenders followed in his wake as the trio opened fire on the swarm of TIEs that came towards them, thanks to their hull plating the seven fighters came through with only two losses, but Garin wasn't concerned as he and his wingmen split and went after their individual targets.

"All units, brace for shockwave, Interdictor reactor critical." Harth called over the general channel.

Garin pushed all his power into his shields, draining his cannons for the boost as his sensors registered the explosion and warnings blared in his helmet. The shockwave sent his craft reeling but he quickly regained control, re-aligning his power grid and continuing his pursuit of the fighters.

"All craft, this is group commander Tartiv, we can't continue to engage the enemy, we are withdrawing; all fighter craft begin recovery and prepare for jump."

The group's fighters began their withdrawal, but Garin ordered Hades to press their attacks despite being even more outnumbered with the withdrawal of the task group's fighters. Diamond began their assault on the next of the Star Destroyers though there was little chance that they'd be able to do significant damage. Unlike the Interdictor which had to divvy its power between weapons, shields, gravity well generators, and all its other systems including life support and internal power, the Mark Twos didn't have to worry about the high energy costs of the gravity wells; it made their weapons and shields that much more potent. Garin scored a hit on a bomber making a run on one of the capital ships in the task group as his wingmates made passes of their own. The bomber formation scattered against the concentrated attack and Garin got a nasty surprise as one of them opened fire with four lasers instead of the normal two, just like Garin had done back in Russani; Zaarin really had been busy upgrading his fleet, how had he managed to do all of this in secrecy?

He snorted at himself as he fired another stream of ion and laserfire into a TIE and watched it break apart under his concentrated attack, the shields really weren't that bad once you knew to just pepper them to pieces, of course he could do it in secrecy. After all, Thrawn had developed Hades in secrecy, this deployment was the first actual official action that Hades was taking part in; and if you were to check the records there wouldn't be a single mention of a heavy cruiser and its attached fighter wing taking part in the campaign. That thought made him wonder how many other secret projects were lying around out there. He'd been forced to memorize enough random secret command codes to confirm that there were quite a few units or operatives on the black that could interact with him if they happened to meet.

"Garin, this is Iriana, the task group is away those Destroyers are beginning to concentrate on us now so I am ordering the _Knight _to withdraw as well."

"Copy that, don't worry about us, we'll follow."

A moment later his sensors showed the _Knight _jumping to lightspeed, he sounded the withdrawal code and activated his auto-track on the _Knight_'s course. It was an ingenious system that Daru had installed early on in their operations; rather than calculate a hyperspace course of his own, the nav computer locked onto a signal sent from the _Knight_ via hypercom. It wasn't something he normally used, because that would mean risking being tracked. However in this case, it didn't matter since Zaarin had to already know where the rest of the task force was. His Defender jumped to lightspeed, and eight minutes later he was docking with the _Black Knight _and reentering the fighter racks. He waited for his ship to finish shut down before climbing out of his fighter and clipping his helmet to his waist again, Daru was below on the hangar deck, with her crew rushing about getting ready to rearm and repair the returning fighters.

He reached into his pocket and produced the holopad, smiling as he ran a gloved finger over it thoughtfully before joining the rest of his pilots in the short trek to the turborlift, fitting rooms, and finally debriefing and a shower.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So those were the first official shots of Zaarin's campaign?"

I nodded, taking another sip of water, "granted no one outside of the campaign, High Command and the Emperor's Inner Circle actually had any clue what was going on. ISB did their usual number on the propaganda side of things. I never met anyone who wasn't deployed to that campaign or directly affected by it that actually knew what really happened and even a lot of the people deployed to the campaign frequently didn't know the whole story. Though admittedly you had to be pretty stupid not to realize we were fighting former Imperial units."

"What were some of the stories that were spread?"

I shrugged, "the forces under Zaarin had defected, granted they never, in any of the variations of the story, admitted that a Grand Admiral was involved. They made it sound like some kind of captain's uprising. That the officers of several warships decided to join the Rebellion or go rogue; it had the desired effect. It scared people, and those that supported the Empire rallied behind the Emperor as the just and rightful leader of the galaxy."

She shifted uneasily for a moment as she considered her notes again, "your Chief, did you have feelings for her?"

I chuckled and leaned forwards, "why Lieutenant, is that jealousy I detect?"

Deanna glared at me, there was of course no sign of jealousy and I knew it, I was just having some fun with her.

"No Commander, it is not. I am merely asking because…well yo—"

"I'm human and she wasn't, yet we both served the Empire where that kind of relationship would have gotten us locked up yes?"

She nodded, "did you have feelings for her?"

"Beyond friendship you mean?"

Again the silent nod, I smiled. "Yes, not initially mind you, but overtime it became clear that we had something between us, some connection."

"Did you ever take it beyond simple feelings?"

"I'd hardly call feelings simple," I raised a brow. "How does this relate to my duties to the Empire exactly?"

"We are trying to establish a psych profile for you, keep in mind that we only have records of you and your unit from rumors and brief mentions here and there. As far as your official career goes, you and your friends all ceased to exist in the Imperial Archives just after the conclusion of the Rusanni Campaign."

I chuckled and smiled, "well let's get back to more pertinent questions."

"Too personal for you Commander," she asked, I noticed the pleased smile and had to shake my head. Did she really think she'd rattled me?

"No, just chronologically out of place; I'll tell you more about my personal life when it comes up."

She sniffed in annoyance but nodded, "very well, what happened next?"

"Zaarin's opening moves got bolder, I wasn't involved but he went after Lord Vader and even the Emperor in the opening strikes of his revolt. Both attempts were foiled despite the fact that he was able to cause quite a bit of damage; after that the battles moved to a match between his forces and the forces arrayed under Thrawn in the Outer- and Mid- rims. The biggest shock to Hades Wing in particular was the loss of the main production lines for the TIE Avenger and we even had to deal with a severe shortage of TIE Defenders as well."


	14. Chapter 13

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight, **_**Outer Rim Territories**

Garin looked over the latest reports and groaned at what he was reading, not only had Zaarin managed to hit the Empire's forces hard, he'd hit them in the wake of _another _rogue Imperial flag officer. Some admiral named Harkov had apparently been keep the Dark Lord busy while he tried to defect to the Rebellion. From the reports, Harkov hadn't been doing it for any sort of morality issues, he'd been doing it for cold hard cash, and that alone made Garin despise him. He had his doubts about the Empire's methods at tims, and some of the things that his crew muttered, for he seemed to have acquired a crew of people willing to question everything, made him question the people he served further. The Death Star rumors were bad enough, but if even Admirals and Grand Admirals were revolting or defecting, what did that say about a newly promoted Lieutenant Commander?

Granted he had little reason to doubt Thrawn; as far as he'd seen Thrawn was the model officer and leader and his concerns over the other leaders of the Fleet were quieted whenever he met with the Admiral. If not for Thrawn's calm, considered, composure Garin might have seriously begun harboring his own ideas of defection. Some of the commanders assigned to Thrawn's unit were downright homicidal in their execution of their orders and that bothered him to a great degree. While he agreed that force was the best way to answer force, there was such a thing as excessive force and some of these captains and commanders seemed to have no idea what that phrase even meant. The most recent engagement between Zaarin and Thrawn's forces had ended in a massacre of a civilian luxury liner that gotten in the way of the fighting when it was pulled from hyperspace by an artificially generated gravity well.

Thrawn had executed the offending Captain that had ordered the civilian ship destroyed, and Garin was glad to be rid of the man. In his opinion, if the Empire could so easily throw away the lives of the people it claimed to protect, then what good was it? Increasingly however he had the feeling that his opinions were among the minority. He shook his head, clearing it of the potentially traitorous thoughts and continued going over the data before him. The primary Avenger production lines had been hit and annihilated, and the primary Defender production facilities had faired little better, though they were still intact albeit damaged. Already this campaign was souring as far as he was concerned, Hades Wing had proven indispensable against Zaarin, Thrawn frequently deployed the wing as a heavy skirmish unit, deploying them to the rear of Zaarin's forces where they could wreck havoc on the rogue Grand Admiral's support ships. Garin had to admit though, that it was no easy task.

Zaarin's fighter force was arguably better than anything, barring Hades Wing; that Thrawn could field. Not only were his standard TIEs equipped with extra weapons, his fighters carried missile packs similar to what Garin had used at Rusanni, the bombers carried the extra pair of wing mounted lasers, and both Zaarin's interceptors and bombers made use of jettisonable wing mounted munitions pods similar to the kind found on one of the Experimental types; add to that the shielded hull plating and his fighters outclassed the standard Imperial fighters in everything but speed and maneuverability, and they made up for that easily. He also had a sizeable force of the TIE Experimental series which had started this whole mess, Garin had identified three of the massive command carriers that controlled the wings of remote TIEs. Thus far, neither Hades nor any of Thrawn's bomber or strike squadrons had been unable to destroy any of the big ships which would cripple the Experimentals command structure if accomplished. Zaarin had apparently upgraded the Experimentals too, they now flew in flights of three that supported and interacted with each other flawlessly; Garin suspected the reason was because two ships in these flights were being slaved to a leader and they followed and supported that lead ship which was the only one that actually required a controller. It was allowing Zaarin to field an insane number of Experimentals and that alone was taking its toll, the only saving grace being the delay in reaction time between the controller and the fighter.

To add further injury, Zaarin, being head of Imperial Fighter Development, had access to some of the most advanced fighters in the Empire, he made use of the Avenger and Defender in numbers that turned Garin's insides into jelly, in addition there were a handful of less common designs being used, including two models of TIE heavy bombers and two models of TIE fighters that were very capable though not without their weaknesses. Thrawn had a few of the heavy bombers at his disposal, and fewer numbers of the two specialized TIE designs, the Oppressor and Aggressor though unlike Zaarin he also made limited use of the Mark One Avenger which was quite capable against the modified standard TIE designs that Zaarin fielded even if the Avenger Mark Two and Defender outclassed it; the one thing Thrawn possessed that Zaarin did not, were the gun- and missile boats that his fleet made good use of to provide munitions support, but neither was as good a dogfighter as any of the TIE models. Garin's unit thankfully had yet to suffer any losses, primarily he suspected, because all of his pilots had logged hundreds of hours on their fighters, much of that in actual combat, and even the newest members of his team who had joined for this campaign were no exception to this. The general quality of Zaarin's pilots was mediocre at best and that gave Garin and the rest of Hades the edge they needed to stay alive if not fulfill their assigned tasks. He closed down his terminal and stared at the ceiling, considering what to do about the fighter superiority* Zaarin possessed.

They needed a way to not only level the playing field, but tip it in Hades' favor if they were to operate effectively and he was strapped for ideas on how to accomplish that. He sighed and leaned back, currently the _Knight _was undergoing repairs, she'd been struck during the last battle by a wave of the kamikaze experimental types, what the pilots had dubbed Kami-TIEs, or Comedies** though there was nothing comedic about a lightening fast piloted missile whose only purpose was to kill itself and its target. Thankfully the _Knight _had suffered minimal damage, but it was enough to warrant new hull plating in the areas where the Comedies had gotten through the point defense lasers and ion cannons. Thrawn had been generous enough to order a new toy for the _Black Knight_; the same energized plating that Zaarin was using for his TIEs was now being applied to the entire hull of the heavy cruiser, part of the reason that the repairs were taking longer than they should. The _Knight _was being field stripped of her outer hull and refitted with the new plating. It wouldn't protect her against attacks like the one the Comedies had conducted, but against energy based weapons, such as lasers or ion cannons it would provide an extra layer of defense if the shields collapsed during the fleet engagements she was increasingly being called to take part in.

While Garin was grateful for the modification, it took Hades out of the combat and though his team needed its rest, his was one of the few units that Thrawn had that could face Zaarin's fighters on equal footing. Part of the reason the Admiral had ordered the additional protection for the _Knight _was actually based on that very fact, he didn't want to risk losing one of his greatest combat assets. So in an annoyingly ironic twist, the value of Hades Wing was keeping them out of the battle for the time being.

Garin's door chimed and his gaze lowered, "come in."

Daru stepped through the door, Garin leaned forwards. "What is it Chief, nothing wrong with the refitting I hope?"

"No sir," she said, a mischievous smile on her face, her lekku twitched excitedly. "I may have found something that can help against Zaarin's forces; I'd like to submit it to Admiral Thrawn."

Garin had to constantly remind himself that he was one of the few people to know about Thrawn's actual rank, he assumed that there would be an official ceremony once Zaarin was dealt with, to publicly promote Thrawn now would be an admittance that there was a missing Grand Admiral and people would wonder what that Grand Admiral was up to.

"What did you have in mind?" Garin asked, his mind changing gears at the prospect of the very thing he'd been hoping for falling into his lap.

"A tractor beam," Daru said simply.

He blinked, "excuse me?"

She handed him a datapad and he looked at what appeared to be a miniaturized version of a tractor beam. He clicked through the images and a smile spread across his face as he saw what she had in mind.

"Have you built any of these things?" He asked excitedly.

"Since my boys and I haven't had anything to do for the last week and a half I had us working double time, we have enough the equip all four squadrons now, including the blastboats."

Garin looked up at her with newfound respect adding itself to the already substantial amount he lauded on her, "your crew built fifty-three miniaturized tractor beam projectors in a week and a half?"

She looked embarrassed, "yes sir, I didn't want to mount them though without your permission."

Garin pulled his comlink off his belt, "Commander Kindran?"

"Here sir, what did you require?"

"I need a shuttlecraft with escort prepared for myself and Chief Kerrila, we're going to meet with the Admiral."

"Can I ask what is going on sir?"

Garin looked up at Daru with a smile, "we might have just found a solution to Zaarin's fighters."

Kindran's response was as crisp as ever, though the surprise in his tone was evident for once. "That shuttle will be ready ten minutes ago sir."

"Do you mind explaining what you're doing?" Harth growled as they stood on the hangar deck.

"Simple, we're taking a gift to the Admiral." Garin said.

"This isn't exactly a good time to be delivering gift baskets," Toth said dubiously, looking at the shuttle distastefully. "Besides, you're going into a combat zone in that flying death trap?"

"Thrawn needs to see this," Daru said forcefully.

Harth and Toth exchanged skeptical glances but didn't say anything despite the looks of concern; Vic'que was far less tactful.

"You should know your place alien, and it isn't with Thrawn."

There was a cold silence as Daru's blue skin darkened and her lekku, wrapped around her neck, rippled, though whether in anger or shame Garin wasn't certain. Before he could say anything though, Harth turned around in a rare show of anger.

"You will show proper respect to the Chief, Lieutenant or I will personally throw you into space."

Vic'que stood shorter than Harth, who was taller than Garin by a good three inches, but she did not back down. "She's a tail-head who thinks she's our equal, she needs to learn her place and it isn't among humans or Admirals."

That was too much for any of the others, Garin would have struck Vic'que had he been close enough, but surprisingly it wasn't Harth, or even Toth that struck her, it was Daru who crossed the distance with an eerie grace before Harth had even raised his hand and struck Vic'que across the face with a crack that sounded throughout the hangar like a grenade. The world seemed to pause and silence as the three men watched the women face off. Garin half expected Vic'que to draw her weapon and shoot Daru but Toth's pistol was already drawn and ready, Garin noted that it was blessedly set to stun. No one outside of the commandos could outshoot Toth and everyone knew it, a borderline drunk he might be, but give him a pistol and the only thing more dangerous was him behind the controls of a fighter. Vic'que had noticed the drawn blaster as well and her hand, halfway to her own sidearm clenched in a fist.

"You just struck a superior officer Chief, I don't think you're going anywhere with the Commander,*** especially not to see the Admiral."

There was prolonged silence once again, and Daru's expression showed that the full gravity of what she'd just done had hit her, any military tribunal, given the prejudice in the Navy not only against women but especially against non-humans would probably have her shot and everyone standing there, including Daru herself, knew it. Despite this, she remained standing defiantly before Vic'que despite the risk to her own life that continued defiance implied.

"I didn't see anything, the Chief slipped." Harth said quietly, his eyes focusing pointedly on Vic'que as his voice broke the silence.

"Captain," she protested angrily, "you can't be—"

"The Chief slipped," Toth agreed, holstering his blaster, though his hand remained resting on the pommel.

Vic'que's face contorted with rage as she looked at Garin viciously, waiting for his say on the incident. Daru too had turned to look at him, he'd expected her to be pleading, but she wasn't. Instead she was just as defiant in her expression as she'd been when she'd been staring at Vic'que.

Garin took a deep breath before speaking, "the Chief slipped, nothing happened."

Vic'que's face, already warped in fury turned livid and she opened and closed her mouth furiously eying all three of them, but she knew just as well as any of them that two Captains and a Lieutenant Commander against a 1st Lieutenant was a fool's fight. She ground her teeth for a moment before turning and leaving the foursome as she stalked towards the exit with a backwards glance at them, and pointedly at Garin.

"I am not going to let this go sir."

As she walked away, the heavy mood remained in place.

"We need to do something about her." Toth said, his hand finally moving away from his sidearm.

"Agreed," Harth said, and for once his voice contained real emotion.

"She's been worse ever since Mat and Kal pulled that stunt with her refresher," Toth said, looking at Garin pointedly.

Garin didn't answer, instead looking at Daru, "get on the shuttle Chief, make sure you have everything you'll need for the Admiral."

"But Sir I—"

"_Now_," Garin growled.

She nodded and skirted past him, Garin was furious though he was doing his best to contain it. He didn't need to alienate Vic'que more than she already was, but he'd be damned if he was going to lose the best mechanic he'd ever met just because Vic'que's ego and pride could disrupt the galaxy's gravity and throw the planets and stars in every direction. The continued silence was broken by the hum of the engines of the shuttle as it prepared for launch.

Garin turned to face Harth, "if anything happens to me, you are in command. Make sure that is understood by everyone, especially Vic'que. Toth will be your XO understood?"

Both of his friends nodded though neither looked happy about the fact that Garin was taking this risk just to show off whatever it was Daru had for Thrawn.

"This had better be some kind of super weapon if its worth risking your life for," Toth said in annoyance.

"It could tip the scales in our favor against Zaarin's fighters," Garin said, "if the Chief and I don't make it back, talk to her Crew Commander, he'll know what to do. I recommend that you install the equipment she's developed regardless of what Thrawn says."

Harth put a hand on Garin's shoulder, preventing him from heading towards the shuttle.

His eyes were cold, "you had better make it back Sir, or I will find you."

Garin snorted, patting Harth on the shoulder, "don't worry, I don't need you hunting me in the afterlife." He glanced at Toth with a smirk, "I'd rather have him come along with some of his store."

Toth raised an eyebrow and raised his hands defensively, "don't expect me to come with anything other than a blaster if you get yourself killed."

"Your support is so reassuring," Garin said with a forced grin.

He turned and headed up the ramp, at the top Daru stood, looking ashamed.

"Sir I—"

He held up his hand to silence her, "I don't want to hear it Chief, its done, we'll deal with it."

Without another word he headed around to the cockpit and leaned over the pilot, patting him on the shoulder.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

The pilot nodded and keyed the com board as the shuttle lifted off from the deck and turned towards space.

"Mantis lead this is shuttle _Orlicon_, we are departing now over."

Author's Note: Zaarin was indeed head of Imperial Fighter R&D so his ability to field such copious amounts of advanced TIE models and heavily modified versions of standard craft is not as unreasonable as it might sound given his extensive knowledge and access to the Imperial Fleet's production facilities. In addition, Admiral Harkov's attempted defection had been a known issue within the Imperial Leadership for sometime, knowing this, Zaarin decided to make use of the distraction to launch his coup and attempted to kill Vader (who was dealing with Harkov) and simultaneously depose the Emperor. Coincidentally it is the character of Maarek Stele, the player's character from the TIE Fighter game, and one of the pilots flying with Vader against Harkov (and later Zaarin once Harkov was dealt with) that inspired the story of Garin and Hades Wing (on another note, I have yet to decide if I want these two pilots to interact at all during the course of this story, if anyone would like to cast a yea or nay vote please do).

*The fighter types I have given Zaarin are as follows: TIE Fighters, Interceptors and Bombers all modified as mentioned, TIE Defenders and Avengers (both of which he helped to develop), five models of TIE Experimental which I won't go into here; as well as four lesser known craft that are still considered canon: the two fighters/light bombers are the TIE Oppressor and TIE Aggressor. The first bomber type is the TIE Heavy Bomber which is a larger version of the standard bomber with an additional munition pod. Then the second bomber type, the TIE Interdictor which again is an enlarged bomber platform with four munition pods. These four craft were used by the Imperial Navy and all of them were developed prior to the Battle of Yavin alongside the TIE Advanced Mark One (also known as Darth Vader's TIE Fighter or TIE Avenger Mark One); however they were used in such limited numbers as to be all but unknown. I gave these last four types to Thrawn's forces as well because as a Grand Admiral he would have the ability to requisition more advanced TIE types despite their limited number.

**Presumably the name 'Comedies' was applied as an ironic black joke by the pilots and crews that had to face these deadly craft whose only purpose was to slam into their intended target, usually a capital or support ship.

***Garin's rank at this point is Lieutenant-Commander, however in most military circles (and I am assuming the same is true for Star Wars) this rank is simply addressed as Commander unless a full Commander is present in which case Lieutenant Commander is used. This is identical to the practice of addressing a Lieutenant Colonel as Colonel in the United States Army and Air Force.


	15. Chapter 14

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

Deanna was looking at me strangely so I decided to wait and see exactly what was bothering her this time since she seemed to be bothered by quite a lot of what happened in Hades.

"Your Chief struck one of your squadron leaders and you didn't so anything about it?"

"Chief Kerrila would have been shot by any military tribune in the Empire. A non-human striking a human officer; she'd be lucky if they didn't torture her first. Despite Vic'que's considerable piloting skills I wasn't willing to exchange Daru's mechanical or organizational genius for that under any circumstances."

Deanna shook her head in amazement, "don't you have any sense of discipline?"

"I'd like to think of it more as unit cohesion than unit discipline actually." I said with a smile.

"Yet you repeatedly alienated one of your leading officers and pilots."

"She repeatedly needed to be reminded that she was no better than the rest of us, true her piloting skills were better than mine and even rivaled Harth's but she was arrogant and didn't understand that if it weren't for the Chief keeping our fighters spaceworthy in the first place none of us would have been doing very well against Zaarin. Most likely we'd be dead"

"So you chose to side with your Chief as a sign of gratitude and a sort of back-handed disciplinary measure?"

I shrugged, honestly that hadn't been the exact reasoning of the time, but it certainly sounded good in hindsight, Deanna examined her notes further before moving on.

"You met with the Admiral shortly after that?"

I nodded, drinking from my infinitely refilling glass slowly.

"And his reaction to the miniaturized tractor beam?"

"He was ecstatic, if it worked as Daru's schematics said it should, we'd finally have a way to engage the faster TIE models that Zaarin was using on equal or in Hades' case, superior ones…."

**Approximately three years earlier, aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer **_**Admonitor**_**, Outer Rim Territories**

Thrawn examined the datapad that Daru had placed on his desk, Garin was fairly certain he'd seen the Admiral going over the same items three or four times, as if he were trying to absorb it all for later use. Finally though, he set the datapad down and considered Daru with a thin smile.

"If you aren't careful Chief Kerrila, I might order you transferred back to my command."

"I wouldn't accept sir," Daru said, standing a little straighter, "I've found a home."

"You presume that I'd give you a choice," Thrawn said quietly, the same smile remaining on his features. "You've come up with quite an ingenious idea, and you say that you've already built several of these devices?"

"Fifty-three sir, they are ready to be deployed to Hades Wing."

Thrawn nodded, his gaze flicking to Garin, "and I assume, since you are here with her Commander, that you approve of these weapons?"

"I've left orders for them to be installed on all the unit's fighters."

"Good, I will copy these schematics and send them to the various engineering divisions in the task force with orders that they be fabricated and installed on all missile and gun boats immediately. We will have to develop new tactics for their use," he smiled giving Garin an amused glance, "but that should hardly be an issue given your history."

"No sir, I plan to start simulation training as soon as we return to the _Knight_."

Again Thrawn nodded, "this weapon could potentially tip the scales in our favor, and I wish that it could be deployed to more units, but sadly only a handful of our fighter classes have the power plants capable of sustaining these beam weapons and even fewer of our squadrons use those classes. We will make do with what we have however and we will win, regardless of Zaarin's impressive numbers. After all, numbers are never the only deciding factor and he is sadly lacking in tactical creativity."

Garin decided to ask a question that had been nagging at him, "sir, has Harkov been dealt with?"

"Yes, Admiral Harkov is no longer an issue, though I am still hard pressed to convince Imperial Command that we need more ships." He waved around his quarters idly. "I was fortunate they allowed me the _Admonitor_," he smiled wryly. "It would seem that many in High Command do not approve of a non-human Admiral requisitioning Fleet assets."

Garin saw Daru tense slightly, and he hoped that Thrawn didn't notice it; right now he didn't need to confront the Admiral about the issue between Vic'que and Daru. He wanted to handle that internally before it got out of control.

"Sir, I assume that you'll have no further need for us, I would like to return to the _Knight_."

"Of course, be careful though, there have been patrols sighted skirting the lanes between here and the station your ship is moored at." He looked away, picking the datapad back up, but then paused. "How long until your ship is battle worthy?"

Daru spoke first, "another three days sir, then we'll be ready."

Thrawn nodded, "best speed and safe journey's to both of you then, I expect to see both Hades and the _Black Knight _in three days time."

"That went well," Garin said as he boarded the shuttle.

Daru nodded, she looked up at him hesitantly as if considering something, before she spoke. "I just hope that it is as helpful as he seems to think it will be."

"You've designed a beam weapon that lets us stop fighter sized craft in their tracks. I think that's pretty useful Chief."

"Yes sir, but keep in mind that I've only tested it on stationary fighters in a hangar deck. Combat will be different."

Garin eyed her, "when you first showed me this new toy of yours you were as excited as I am what happened?"

"Isn't it obvious," she asked, taking a seat against the bulkhead.

Garin scowled, "if you're worried about Sajuuk, don't be. We'll work it out."

"She isn't going to forgive me sir, you know that."

He didn't answer he knew she was right; Vic'que was still peeved by Garin's methods of command so there was little hope that she'd forgive Daru. So instead of continuing the gloomy conversation, he looked over his datapad, examining the ships that had joined Thrawn's task force. They now had several Star Destroyers of various classes in addition to various cruisers, frigates, and corvettes, though still none of the newest class II Imperials or Victories, both would have been welcome additions. The Tector-class however was proving its worth despite its age thanks to its heavy armor; it was able to slug it out with Zaarin's heavier Imperial Twos even if it did have a lighter armament. The biggest advantage Zaarin had was his fighters, if they could strip away that advantage with this new weapon, then the capital ships under Thrawn could have a better chance against their opposites. Why High Command was taking so long to allow newer warships to be committed to the fight was beyond Garin. Though to be honest it wouldn't have surprised him to learn that there was a prejudice against Thrawn, especially since so few people knew that he was a Grand Admiral now. When it was finally made public, Garin imagined a lot of people would be having sleepless and panicky nights wondering if the newly minted Grand Admiral would remember their stubbornness.

"Jumping to light speed now," the pilot said.

Garin leaned back in his seat, pocketing his datapad and closing his eyes. He wasn't sure how long he slept, or even if he did, but what seemed like mere seconds later warning alarms were going off as the shuttle was jerked violently into realspace.

He stood instantly and punched the intercom, "pilot, what's going on?"

"There's a small corvette with gravity wells in the area, we're being assault by enemy fighters!"

Garin didn't say anything more, both the shuttle pilot and Mantis would do their best to keep them alive, instead he turned to the storage locker near the rear of the passenger compartment. He pulled it opened tossed a spacesuit to Daru, she wrapped her lekku around her neck and draped them over her shoulders as he pulled the suit on over his uniform. She did the same, slipping into the vacuum sealed suit and catching the helmet he tossed her way.

"Do you think we'll need it," she asked, her expression worried.

As if in answer, the shuttle bucked as something hit it, Garin looked at her pointedly. "Do you want to find out the hard way?"

She clipped the helmet into place and returned to her seat just as the shuttle bucked again, then there was an explosion to the fore of the ship, Garin swore as the shuttle heaved and began leaning violently, he keyed the com unit in the suit as he clutched a handrail to keep his balance. Across from him, Daru was bouncing off the opposite wall, she thankfully had the sense to curl up rather than flail around and risk breaking something.

"Pilot report," there was no answer, "pilot!"

When no answer was forthcoming he hailed Mantis. "Mantis lead this is Hades One, what's going on?"

"Sir, a missile impacted on the shuttle cockpit, its gone sir."

"The cockpit module is gone?" Daru asked in surprise.

"Yes ma'am, blown clear off."

"Status Lieutenant?"

"We've got the corvette on the run, but those fighters are too fast and far more maneuverable than us sir, we can't nail them all."

"Have you suffered any losses?"

"Negative sir, we've been able to keep them on their toes."

Garin nodded, looking over at Daru for a moment as he considered his options, "alright Lieutenant, you are going to do exactly what I tell you to. When that gravity well is gone you jump to the _Knight _and inform them of our position and predicament. With the shuttle in the state it is I doubt they'll bother with what they assume is dead weight. Have the _Knight _dispatch an EVA recovery team with heavy escort, we'll be waiting."

"Sir I can't just lea—"

"Do it pilot, you said yourself that you don't have the maneuverability or speed to deal with those fighters, get out now while you're still intact."

"Yes sir, we'll do it sir, under protest."

"So noted," Garin smiled grimly. "Hurry back, we'll be waiting."

"Shouldn't they have been back by now?" Daru asked, her legs tucked up under her chin as she sat with her back against the angle formed by the slanting deck and the bulkhead.

Garin checked his chrono, it took forty-minutes to move from the station where the _Knight _was docked to the main task force's current position. So far a whole hour had passed and there had been no hails, and with the cockpit out, there of course was no way to know what was going on outside.

"They'll be here, don't worry."

"Sir," Daru's expression changed painfully, "Garin, we're going to die out here."

"No, we aren't." He responded simply, not nearly as sure of that as he sounded. He honestly suspected they might die out here, the shuttle had plenty of oxygen, enough for three days, their suits had another eighteen hours, and once that ran out the suits could recycle their carbon dioxide but that was only viable for eight hours. So they had just over four days before they'd died of asphyxiation if help never arrived, food and water wasn't a problem, as per standard procedures the shuttles lockers had enough rations and water for three months plus survival gear. He looked over at Daru, wondering if he'd shoot her to keep her from suffering, if what he remembered of Twi'lek physiology was correct, they needed a lot more oxygen than a human did, their lekku, basically extended brain tissues, needed to be fed and all that extra gray matter required that much more oxygen.

After a few more moments of silence passed, Daru started to speak again.

"I used to think that I'd die in the gutters on Coruscant, once my master grew tired of me. Its part of the reason why I learned everything I could about machines, in the hopes that I could find a job when my master eventually decided I was no longer attractive and cast me out. I never thought I'd end up doing what I do now, and I never imagined I'd die alone on a wrecked shuttle in the Outer-Rim…I wish I could have seen my home world one more time, I barely remember it, or even my mother. I'd like to see them both just once."

"Chief, how is your EVA?"

She blinked; looking up at him in confusion, there was pain in her gaze too. She probably thought he was brushing off what she'd just said without giving it any thought.

"Can you space walk Chief?"

"I never had that kind of training Garin." She said tersely, her annoyance evident.

"Well this is fine time to learn," he stood and dropped down to the opposite wall to sit besides her. He held up his palm, "you see these thrusters? They're fed by theses tanks in your wrist, when you flatten your palm like this," he demonstrated, a small stream of compressed gas shot from the palm thruster. "You can move around, it might be a little disorienting at first, but don't worry, I won't let you drift off."

She looked at him like he'd lost his mind, "what do we do if they come for us and we're not on the shuttle?"

He flipped his helmet around and indicated a flat panel on its back. "Tap this pad when you leave the shuttle, it'll transmit a transponder signal on all frequencies within a parsec. If anyone shows up, they'll find us."

Her silvery blue eyes focused on his gold nervously. "I've never done this before."

"Well that's fine, I haven't done this since training and that was a couple years ago."

"You've lost your mind."

He shrugged, fitting his helmet and securing it. "Possibly, but do you have anything better to do?"

After a moment's more hesitation she fitted her own helmet and followed him to the neck section where the cockpit had been. He supposed that in all honesty he likely had lost his mind, he was taking Daru for a space walk in the middle of a life and death situation; but seriously, what else were they supposed do? Sit and go mad worrying about their impending deaths? He'd been there once already, he wasn't in the mood to do it again. He slapped the keypad and checked to see if the airlock was still intact, surprisingly it was. The bulkhead had managed to hold despite having the cockpit blown away.

"Shouldn't we use the boarding ramp?" Daru asked.

"If you want to lose all our oxygen in the cabin, be my guest."

Daru shrunk away from him, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can do this."

He opened the airlock and stepped in, reaching out his hand to her. "Trust me Daru, you can do this, it'll be fun."

"No Garin, fun is working on an engine block or a faulty power grid, this is insane."

"And that's not fun?" He asked all too cheerily, even to his own ears he sounded a little deranged.

She took a deep breath, he could see the fog from her lips on the visor of her helmet, then she took his hand, he pulled her to him and closed the airlock. It hadn't been meant for two people to stand in like this, so it was a bit of tight fit, especially with the space suits on. He keyed the opposing pad and pressurized the lock, releasing the outer door. The debris from the cockpit was nowhere to be seen, which meant they'd drifted from the skirmish; that also meant that it was less likely for someone to find them without looking. It might explain the time delay, so perhaps Hades was out looking for them, just in the wrong spot. After all, the slightest shift in a hyperspace course could send you somewhere else entirely than where you intended. He stepped off the lip of the shattered outer lock and pushed off with his other leg, turning with his thrusters and beckoning Daru to follow him as he drifted lazily away from the wrecked shuttle.

She paused, tensing like she was about to leap into a pool, then with a heroic effort she pushed herself towards him. As he'd expected, she panicked and began cart wheeling aimlessly. He'd been prepared for this and fired his thrusters, setting himself at an angle to intercept her. They collided and he used his thrusters to stop their movement as he helped her to rotate up relative to him.

"See? Not that hard at all," he said over the intercom, clunking his helmeted head against hers.

"You have lost your mind." She said queasily.


	16. Chapter 15

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Do you ever do anything normal Commander?"

I looked up, my face a mask of innocence. "What are you talking about?"

She scowled, "you break your subordinate's limbs and lock them in their quarters, you allow fraternization amongst your crew, and now you're telling me that you took your CDO for a space walk when you could have died within the next few days drifting in space?"

"What's so wrong with that?" I asked, trying to keep the inevitable smile from crossing my features.

"No normal person is going to do that Commander," Deanna said in annoyance.

"Obviously you've been seeing the wrong men Lieutenant."

Her reaction to the jibe was much reduced from my earlier jokes about her personal life, but that was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Don't change the subject, what were you thinking?" She snapped.

"I just thought she might like the change in pace, you know how depressing it is to sit around contemplating your death? Russani taught me something very important, and that is that life is far too precious and fleeting to waste it fretting over whether or not you'll live to see it. If you live in constant fear of death, how can you expect to live?"

She gave me a disbelieving look, "so now you're a philosopher?"

I smirked, "I can also read and write, want me to show you?"

"Lets get back to your space walking on death's door, I can't wait to hear what you did since you obviously didn't die."

I chuckled and shrugged, "lucky for you, imagine how boring your life would be without me…."

**Approximately five years ago, Outer Rim Territories, space**

"What are you doing Garin?" Daru asked as she held onto the front of his suit tensely.

"Looking for something," he answered calmly, slowly rotating, his eyes scanning the stars around them.

"What can you possibly be looking fo—"

"Ah, there it is." He interrupted, "you'll need to let go of me Daru."

He felt her grip tighten and he reached down as they drifted slowly through the emptiness, "don't worry, I promise I won't leave you."

She nodded and released him, though she kept one hand firmly gripping his arm. He reached out with a hand and pointed to a distant point in the inky blackness.

"You see that yellow star?"

She followed his finger as best she could, trying to find _which _yellow star he was point at before finally nodding, "what about it?"

"That's Ryloth's star in the Gaulus Sector; your home is orbiting that point."

"I—oh," she said with sudden understanding, her voice softening over the intercom.

They floated like that for a while, besides one another staring at the point he'd indicated, finally she broke the silence.

"Do you think she remembers me?"

He took her hand, lacing their clunky fingers together as best as he could manage. "I'm sure she's there right now looking back up at you, wondering if you remember her."

There was another pause, and then he heard something strange over the intercom, he turned to face her, and realized she was crying inside her suit, the tears were floating in small droplets inside her helmet. He shifted, orienting their bodies close and letting her wrap her arms around him tightly.

"It's stupid, I've been through all of this, and now I'm crying like a scared child." She murmured quietly, "I must seem pretty pathetic."

"I don't know, home is a pretty important thing to most people."

She looked up at him, the top of her helmet clunking against his chin. "Where is your home?"

He stuck out his arms and fired his thrusters in opposing directions, rotating them around as he scanned the stars again, when he found what he was looking for he stopped their spin and pointed.

"There we are home sweet home, Coruscant."

"The capital," she said wonderingly, as if it were something special.

"No, I was born on the opposite side of the planet from Imperial City, got raised by my older sister and two cousins who worked in of the foundries. I spent my younger years racing swoops and air cars, quite a few of them stolen, to earn credits to get by. There weren't a lot of honest jobs for a pre-teen in my neighborhood.

"It sounds exciting," Daru murmured.

"Yeah, dodging armed and angry swoop gangs is a riot," Garin said with a snort. "As soon as I was old enough, I signed up for enlistment, got scouted for pilot training and here I am years later."

"Do you miss your sister and cousins?"

Garin considered, he hadn't seen any of them since joining Hades Wing, and only once before then, just after graduating and before being shipped out for Russani. He still sent messages, but they contained mostly things he made up, falsifications of what he was actually doing since he couldn't tell them about Hades or the operations that he participated in.

"Yeah, I suppose I do, my oldest cousin, Davina was a great cook, she really knew how to fill your stomach no matter how little she had available to her."

Daru pressed against him, "I think I'd like to see them with you."

He looked down at her; she was smiling her tears dried, "only after we take you back to Ryloth first."

"So I guess we can't die out here can we Garin?" She asked, her voice charged with renewed energy.

"Did you think I'd let that happen?" He said, even if he wasn't completely sure of their survival himself.

"Was Russani worse than this?"

He snorted, now she was reading his mind?

"Depends on your idea of worse, no one is trying to kill us out here, in Russani it seemed like everyone and their second cousin was trying to shoot us."

She nodded, "I heard about it from Lieutenants Sele and Reath talking about it when I was working on the missile boats once. It sounded terrifying."

"After a while you just got used to it and resigned yourself to the fact that you weren't going to survive."

Her tone was curious as she spoke further, "so what was different here?"

"For one, I'm your commanding officer; I'm not allowed to let you give up. For two, Russani taught me what despair is, and I never want to experience such total hopelessness again."

"I'm getting hungry," she said, sounding embarrassed.

Garin let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Of course, let's go see what the cook has for us."

He rotated them again, aiming towards the now distant whitewash of the shuttle hull and fired his thrusters, propelling them back towards the relative safety of the wreckage.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So what happened?" Deanna asked it was rather cute how she was leaning forwards like this was some kind of adventure story.

"We spent about three hours in total out there before we were finally rescued. I found out after being picked up that the station where the _Knight _was berthed was assaulted, hence the delay in mounting a rescue attempt."

She frowned, "no I mean…between you and Chief Kerrila."

"Oh, nothing, we went back to the shuttle, ate, spoke some more and then she fell asleep."

"In your arms," she asked expectantly.

"What am I supposed to be, some holodrama hero who always gets the girl?"

"You certainly make it sound like you lived in one," she said accusatorily.

"You're welcome to fantasize all you like, it was a war, strange things happened." I could already picture what she was imagining and the imagery, I had to admit, was quite funny really.

"So nothing ever came of your relationship with her? You never took her to meet your family, or to Ryloth?"

"Should I have? When did we have the time? Lieutenant, whether you've noticed or not, but there has been a near constant state of war for over a decade now, most of us haven't had the chance to take shore leave."

She glared at me, but I just shrugged, after all it was true. I hadn't been off of active duty since just before Endor, three years of combat takes a lot of effort. The closest thing to leave I'd experienced in those three years had been the lulls in the fighting aboard the _Knight._

There was a low rumble and she frowned, tensing suddenly, "what was that?"

For a change, I was the one embarrassed "I'm hungry."

"Oh for the love of—you can't be serious. Does this look like a restaurant?"

I crossed my arms pointedly, "let's see, you aren't going to torture me so there is very little you can do to force me to talk. I've already got a glass of water, what's wrong with a little food? I'm not asking for anything fancy, MRE's work just fine if that's all you'll give me."

She stood up, slamming her chair against the table as she glared at me, "the guard outside will shoot you if you try to escape."

"I'll keep that in mind."

When she left the room, and I was certain that no one but the holocam in the corner was watching I put my hand on my belt buckle and depressed it, the low rumble sounded again, one long, two short, and then one long. I smiled, doing my best to keep from doing anything too bizarre, to the holocam it would look like I was just adjusting my belt. I almost felt guilty as I squeezed the buckle again and a final buzzing rumble sounded before it silenced, it would be unfortunate if Lieutenant Deanna Pardice was hurt after all she was a very accommodating, even kind, jailor. She returned a moment later with a tray, which much to my pleasure was not loaded with MRE's but with actual food even if it was military issued. I helped myself though I wasn't a pig, I even offered to share not that she took the offer. It occurred to me of course that there might be something in the food, but I was actually hungry, even if the sound she'd heard hadn't been my stomach.

"Finished," she asked as I downed the last bit of food with a gulp of water.

"Well unless you were planning on a dessert course," she glared at me, "didn't think so."

"So you reported back to duty three days after that incident, had the new beam weapons been installed by then?"

"In Hades Wing yes, it was very limited in deployment in the other units under Thrawn's command."

"Did it have the desired effect?"

I nodded, smiling, "Zaarin's pilots never saw it coming, one moment they were flying smoothly through space, the next they were being dragged around by our fighters like tethered balls. Eventually, as more of the fleet's units that could carry the beam weapon were equipped with it the tables really did start to turn, we were even able to knock out the command carrier ships for the Experimentals which took out a good third of Zaarin's forces."

"So the campaign was quickly coming to a close then."

"Not exactly, we'd hurt Zaarin yes, but he still had a good sized fleet at his command, and his flagship, the _Glory _was still intact despite repeated attempts to trap and destroy her."

"Zaarin wouldn't come out to fight a direct ship to ship action?"

"After we began turning the tide, he started playing hard to get, what had been a series of fleet engagements turned into hit-and-run skirmishes. Sadly, Hades was the only unit in the task force that had any experience in this kind of warfare though a few crews had dealt with similar tactics in the form of Rebel attacks. Zaarin got very careful when he realized our shifting tactics. Thrawn realized that simple battle prowess wasn't going to end the campaign so he began formulating a plan to trap Zaarin and defeat him."

Deanna frowned, "but you just said that Zaarin was being extremely careful, I don't see how he could possibly fall into a simple trap."

I smiled, "Thrawn pursued his usual course whenever he wished to defeat an opponent, he began studying him in depth, and he eventually found a major weakness that could exploited."

"And that was?"

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer **_**Admonitor, **_**Outer Rim Territories**

"Technology," Thrawn said simply, everyone around the briefing room exchanged glances, even Garin was confused.

Finally someone in the audience spoke up, "excuse me Admiral, but I don't believe I understand what you're saying."

Garin recognized the slow, calm, predatory smile that spread across Thrawn's face. He had something in mind, something that would sound completely obvious once it was revealed.

"Zaarin is a technophile. He cannot resist new technology; his force composition up to this point reflects that, as does his military career up to and after his rogue status."

Thrawn turned to the holoprojector and an image of an asteroid appeared, it took Garin a moment to realize what he was looking at exactly, a base built into an asteroid.

"This is To-Phalion Base, home to a special project developing a very special technology that I intend to use as bait for Zaarin. It will draw him out, and we will destroy him."

A man with Commander's bars stood up and joined Admiral Thrawn who motioned to him, "this is Maarek Stele, he will be leading a TIE squadron whose job will be to delay the Grand Admiral once he arrives, or failing Zaarin's arrival, to draw him out by frustrating any attempt to take To-Phalion. Once Zaarin is in evidence, we will strike and annihilate him."

"Are we to capture the Grand Admiral Sir," someone asked.

Thrawn's eyes darkened, "he is a traitor to the Empire, and he is to be given no quarter, even if it is asked for. I do not care if he comes to you prostrate upon his belly groveling like a worm. You are to kill him with extreme prejudice."

His gaze swept the room, "while we execute Zaarin, the rest of the task force will move to engage his main fleet, this should prove sufficient to allay any suspicions of a trap and allow us to ensnare him."

Another question was raised, one Garin was harboring as he eyed Maarek Stele appraisingly.

"How does a simple TIE squadron intend to stop the Grand Admiral's attacks?"

Maarek Stele looked at Thrawn, who nodded, the pilot stepped forwards. "I was one of the pilots selected by Lord Vader to fly against Harkov and later assist in preventing the capture of the Emperor by Zaaring at the start of this campaign. In addition, the Admiral is not being entirely frank, my unit flies TIE Avengers, and we will be more than a match for Zaarin when he comes for us, especially with the new beam weapon."

A silence settled over the group, any pilot selected by Vader was sure to have connections not only to the Dark Lord, but to the Emperor and that meant that anything said or done by anyone here could potentially find its way back to the most dangerous men in the entire Empire. Garin continued to watch Stele, and felt a shiver run down his back when their eyes finally met. This was a man who had killed and faced death repeatedly; he wondered what kind of person he was beneath those hunters' eyes.


	17. Chapter 16

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer **_**Admonitor**_**, Outer Rim Territories**

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Commander?"

Garin turned to find a young Lieutenant beckoning him over as he stepped out of the briefing room.

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"The Admiral wishes to speak with you," the officer said in a hushed tone, "privately."

Garin nodded and followed the Lieutenant away from the other officers, the pair moved in silence as they moved around to the entrance to the command office attached to the briefing room. The Lieutenant stopped at the door and saluted, taking his leave as Garin stepped inside, returning the salute.

"Thank you Lieutenant."

He found projected images of Zaarin's various toys floating around the room; Thrawn was seated at his desk, leaning back in his chair considering the images as they drifted around the room lazily. Garin spied another figure off towards the door leading to the briefing room but paid them no mind. If he needed to know who they were, he would.

"You wanted to see me Admiral?"

"Yes Lieutenant Commander, I believe you know Commander Stele?"

Garin turned as Thrawn motioned towards the figure by the door; Stele stepped out and offered his hand. Garin shook it, inclining his head respectfully.

"Commander," he turned back to Thrawn. "What can I do for you sir?"

"As you know, the Commander's unit is assigned to engage any forces Zaarin sends against To-Phalion station that he is not a part of."

Garin nodded, remaining silent as he divided his attention between the Admiral and Maarek Stele; the latter was staring at Garin in a very unsettling manner.

"What I need your unit to do Lieutenant Commander is insert the Commander's unit, and provide rapid response if he should find himself in need of assistance."

Stele snorted quietly, he didn't seem to believe there was much that Zaarin could throw into the situation that he wouldn't be able to handle, whether that was arrogance or experience speaking, Garin would have to see.

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, just what are we baiting Zaarin with?"

"Do you need to know Lieutenant Commander?" Stele asked coolly.

Garin eyed him with an equally cool gaze, "I like to know what I'm supposed to be defending in case I have to find it later."

Stele didn't say anything, but Thrawn saved him the trouble, "a cloaking device. More accurately a corvette equipped with a cloaking device; the _Vorknkx_. It is an experimental craft obviously, and I imagine that now that Zaarin has the information on it he will want it very badly." A smile played across his features, "after all, what could he accomplish with a functioning cloaking device?"

Quite a lot Garin imagined considering what he was already doing with heavily modified starfighters, he didn't want to think of what Zaarin would do if those fighters could cloak as well.

"I assume it's a ruse to draw him out?"

Thrawn shook his head, "hardly, the prototype is a working model; it has to be if we're to make sure Zaarin makes the mistake of coming for it. Your job, and the job of Commander Stele, is to ensure that he must come for it himself. Any force that does not include the _Glory _is to be wiped out with prejudice. We need Zaarin himself to make this move; otherwise we're wasting our time."

"What can you tell us about the facility?" Stele asked, Garin's attention refocused on the details.

"Zaarin has already made several scouting sorties against this facility, which means he has spies there already, or another source that gives him accurate information. He has yet to hit it in force and the defensive weapons have done their job and kept him at bay. However the asteroid based turrets are now largely destroyed or disabled with only a handful remaining, I've ordered a minefield deployed in their stead to assist in slowing our esteemed Grand Admiral down, but that is all it can do: slow him."

Thrawn turned to Stele, "your transfer there should appear to be a desperate measure to provide added security against the attacks and to replace, though insufficiently, the remaining turrets that guard the facility."

"Insufficiently," Stele stated questioningly, he sounded offended.

Thrawn cast him an amused glance, the kind that a tutor might give to an overconfident pupil, "while I do not doubt your skill, or the skill of the men under your command, there is little you could realistically do against a concentrated effort by Zaarin's forces. Your Avengers simply do not have the firepower to take on multiple capital ships, though I do not doubt that you would make them pay for their efforts; you would run out of munitions before Zaarin ran out of ships."

Stele still looked like he might disagree but he didn't press the matter, he turned to Garin instead. "My men and I will meet you aboard your ship Lieutenant Commander, I will see you there."

The Commander left the room and Garin let himself breathe a little easier, Thrawn chuckled at the expression of distaste on Garin's face.

"Oh don't judge him too harshly Commander; he is having issues similar to the ones you faced during your last cruise however he is far too loyal to cope with them in the manner that you did."

"Excuse me sir?"

"His faith in the Empire is being shaken, first by Harkov's betrayal and murder of his mentor, and now by Zaarin's continued campaign against the Emperor. Unlike you, he is unwilling to imagine that the Empire he serves might not be everything he dreams it to be."

Garin swallowed nervously, was Thrawn telling him what he thought he was? "Sir I—"

"Do not apologize, you and I are the only two who know about Hades assisting the Rebels, and as I've already said, though it was treasonous, you made a decision based on the information you had available to you. I do not begrudge you your judgment; in fact I applaud your willingness to act. Too many officers are unwilling risk their careers, let alone their lives, for what they may deem to be the correct course. Part of why I formed Hades was to make use of your rather singular ability to take those risks and act."

Garin inclined his head respectfully, "thank you Admiral."

"Oh don't misunderstand Lieutenant Commander; if you ever do something like that publicly there will be little I can do to protect you despite my own opinions. I dearly hope you continue to provide me with those singular skills however, it would be a horrible tragedy to lose the unique ability set that Hades offers."

Garin allowed himself a smile, "and the chance to advance those who you deem vital but have no other options."

Thrawn's eyes flickered for a moment and his expression turned dangerous even as he smiled, "be careful what you assume Durives; the truth, no matter how correct, is not always safe to those who possess it."

Garin straightened and saluted, "yes sir was there anything else?"

"As a matter of fact there is. I trust this to you and you only; I don't know how Zaarin is getting his intelligence and the fewer who know this the better. I am telling you this because it will save you from expending precious resources in chasing down Zaarin should he capture the _Vorknkx _and escape; pay attention to everything I am going to tell you because I will only say it once."

Garin stood silently and listened to every word the Admiral said, by the end of it he was smiling despite himself and couldn't help but think that Thrawn was the most cunning man he'd ever met.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"You can't be serious; Thrawn was taking that big a risk with one of the Empire's secret projects?"

"It was a gamble, but after he explained his plan to me I had no doubt that it would work."

"And just what was his plan, you didn't exactly elaborate."

I chuckled, "what did I say about getting ahead of the story?"

She scowled at me though there was no real anger in her expression, more amused annoyance as he leaned back and beckoned for me to continue.

"Fine, be coy Commander. I'll entertain you for now; we've got plenty of time."

I smiled at her sweetly, she was right that we did have time, how much time though I wasn't entirely sure of, but it should be just enough.

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the**__**cruiser **_**Black Knight, **_**To-Phalion Base**

"He's not doing that badly all things considered." Iriana said, standing besides Garin on the bridge of the _Knight._

The pair was watching the second wave of Zaarin's attack being mopped up by Stele's squadron. So far, there had been two separate waves, both of which Stele had been able to defeat; during the first wave, the remaining weapons systems that the station and its outlying facilities possessed had been brought down by a spy who had then tried to escape. Stele however had quickly destroyed the saboteur's shuttle and readied his unit for further assaults. He didn't have long to wait, in a matter of hours yet another wave had arrived, this one with light capital ship support and Garin had been ready to move in with a squadron or two to assist until Stele had sent a coded message telling them to stay back. He then proceeded to annihilate this wave as well and was now finishing off the remainder of the force in question.

Garin saw some similarities in himself and Stele, however where he tried to rely more on tactics and outmaneuvering his opponents, Stele seemed to prefer brute force and simply smashing his opponents into oblivion. Thus far that tactic had worked just fine and Garin wasn't going to begrudge Stele his skill in executing it even if it wasn't to his liking.

"Sir, we have a ship dropping into the system," the sensor officer called from the command pit. He looked up at Iriana, licking his lips worriedly, "it's the _Glory._"

Garin nodded, "that would be my cue the task group is yours Captain."

Iriana smiled, "not exactly how I envisaged my first group command, but I won't complain. Good luck sir."

"You too Captain."

"Sir, hypercom is being jammed." The comms officer called from his terminal.

"The _Glory_," Iriana said, more of statement than a question.

She and Garin exchanged glances; their goal wasn't to engage the _Glory _directly, but instead to send a signal to Thrawn when she arrived. With the jamming in place, they couldn't send that signal. They didn't have a task group large enough to take on the Mark Two Imperial, Hades Wing was there, and Stele's Avengers, plus a handful of frigates and corvettes accompanying the _Knight_. It was an uneven fight to say the least.

"The _Glory _is deploying Avengers and Defenders, orders?" Kindran asked stoically as he strolled through the command pit.

Garin was silent, without saying a word he was letting Iriana have full command of the situation. She was a Fleet Officer and had much more knowledge when it came to slugging matches between capital ships.

"Stele's squadron will be outmatched and outnumbered if they've brought a full compliment which we must assume they have."

She looked to Garin, "Hades will reinforce Shrike squadron the _Knight _will lead the assault on the _Glory_."

"I'll assign Diamond to your command; Harth's boys can try and knock out the communications tower and assist in bringing down the _Glory_."

She nodded her thanks, "thank you Lieutenant Commander."

Garin wanted to say more, wish her luck or something, but didn't. He had to trust in her command abilities, if he showed doubt or something like it to the crew then it would spread like wildfire. So instead he turned and left the bridge in Iriana and Kindran's hands and headed where he could make a difference, his fighter.

"So what's the plan?" Toth asked as their fighters launched.

"The plan is to give support to the station and to Shrike squadron; Diamond is under the _Knight_'s command until further notice. The _Knight _will lead the task group against the glory."

"That's suicide!" Protested Vic'que, they were speaking over the command channel thankfully, so no one who wasn't in command would be thrown off.

"Don't you think we realize that? We've being jammed though so we can't call for help, we're lucky that the _Knight _is boosting out signal so local comms are online."

"Garin," Harth said gravely, "the _Knight _doesn't have the fight to take on a Deuce, nor do any of the other ships in our task group."

"I know Harth, that's why you need to knock out that comms tower now before they have to slug it out with that thing."

"Copy, it'll be down."

"Gar, this is insane." Toth said nervously.

"We've been in worse," Garin said, sounding confident despite the weight in his gut.

"We had support in those cases sir," Vic'que said, she actually sounded worried instead of just angry.

"Just focus on your objectives," Harth said coolly, "we'll get through this."

"That's our fearless leader!"

"Diamond to the core!"

Harth's voice returned, cold and serious where normally he was lighter when Kalan and Matrin chimed in with their two creds worth of idiocy.

"Both of you, in this case, if you joke around, I will shoot you," Harth paused for a moment, "Lieutenant Sajuuk, do you still want to skin them?"

"Yes sir," Vic'que said.

"If they mouth off again, you can." Harth responded icily.

"Okay, okay, you've made your point!" Matrin said his tone suddenly serious.

"Yeah," Kalan said haughtily. "You're too extreme."

"Shut up, fly." Harth said, and then Diamond's line went dead as the missile boats peeled off.

"You know, even when they're being serious they're still pretty funny." Toth said.

"Luixana, concentrate, we're in trouble here." Vic'que chided.

Before any more useless banter could be made, another voice joined the command channel.

"While I am grateful that you've come to help, if you're going to just mouth off, can you all go get spaced?"

"Shrike leader this is Shadow leader, here to offer assistance." Garin responded.

"How nice, lets see if you can really fly those fighters or if you're just good with your mouth only."

As if in answer, Toth's Gorgons unleashed a furious missile salvo that tore into the enemy Defenders and Avengers with vicious abandon. The enemy fighters wheeled and dodged but their unit cohesion was shot to pieces and they scattered in every direction.

"Hades move to engage, Shrike needs to regroup." Stele said simply.

"We're on it Commander, see you in a moment." Garin responded.

"You will," came the stiff response.

"Jeez, he makes Harth seem warm." Toth muttered.

"At least he can issue effective orders," Vic'que responded defensively.

"Alright that's enough, kill these traitors so we can get to Zaarin, the sooner we deal with them the sooner the _Knight _is out of harms way."

Even as he said it though, Garin looked at the numbers of enemy fighters and winced, they were up against six squadrons of Avengers and Defenders, and even with the beam weapon he didn't like the odds. Of course there were the three squadrons aboard the frigate accompanying the _Knight _but those were two TIE fighter units and one of bombers. They wouldn't stand a chance. He watched as the red wedge of the _Glory _moved towards the blue orb of To-Phalion, and the blue wedges and bars that represented the _Knight _and her escortmoved to intercept none of them came close to the size of the Mark Two. This was going to be bloody.


	18. Chapter 17

**Approximately five years earlier, Outer Rim territories, To-Phalion Station**

"This is _Maru Ki_, the Admiral is making his escape we are dedicating our squadrons to protect him. Any ships that can offer assistance are greatly encouraged to do so."

"What in space?" Toth asked over the channel.

"Say again _Maru Ki, _who is leaving the combat zone?" Stele asked quickly, he sounded just as confused as Garin felt, what was going on?

"Admiral Thrawn is withdrawing, he will return with reinforcements." The comms officer from the frigate responded.

"Kark me," Stele swore, "Shrikes, protect that shuttle!"

"Negative Commander, that will not be necessary continue with your objectives."

"I cannot comply with that order," Stele said, Garin could see the Shrikes moving away from the dogfight and towards the shuttle which was burning tail to clear the combat area.

"You will comply with that order Commander Stele," Thrawn's calm voice answered, "or I will order Hades Wing to engage and destroy your unit."

Stele sounded furious, "Admiral what in all the hells of the universe are you doing here?"

"That is my business, now continue with your objectives or I will have you and your unit destroyed."

Garin could hear the frustration in Stele's voice, "yes sir, Shrikes reengage your previous targets."

Their previous targets however were not engaging them, they'd broken off to go after the shuttle and its escorts, Garin was about to follow Stele's earlier inclination and order Hades to intercept when his com crackled.

"Commander Stele, this is Lieutenant Reath, that shuttle is a decoy, the Admiral is not aboard."

"Explain right now Lieutenant." Stele growled.

"Lieutenant Sele and I are broadcasting a recording of the Admiral's voice to that shuttle and broadcasting it in the clear, there is no one aboard. We have to hit the _Glory _now while we have the chance."

Stele sounded shocked as he fumbled for words before he finally spoke clearly, "all units close on the _Glory_, knock out that tower!"

Garin didn't need any encouragement and he silently blessed the Captain of the _Maru Ki _for letting Kalan and Matrin pull this stunt. It just might give them their chance. The _Glory _had already hulled the three corvettes with the _Knight _and the smaller frigate was listing heavily as she moved away from the combat zone. The _Knight _had yet to sustain any serious damage though according to his scans her shields were failing. In the meanwhile, the _Glory _was directly above To-Phalion and had deployed shuttles to the station, Garin assumed they were capturing the _Vorknkx _and preparing it for transport. So far the Star Destroyer's guns had been able to keep Diamond from scoring any major hits in critical areas, hopefully this would change that.

"All fighters, this is Diamond lead, I need everyone to target lock the _Glory _and fire every warhead you have."

"What are you planning Arusi?" Stele asked dubiously.

"Targeting overload sir, their computers can't handle that many warheads coming in at once, Diamond will launch heavy rockets at the communications tower and destroy it while they try to sort out the incoming threats."

"I copy, you heard him Shrikes, fire!"

"Shadows, open fire on that Destroyer," Garin ordered, similar orders were relayed in Mantis, Wyvern, and Gorgon.

Within moments space was filled with warhead trails as literally hundreds of projectiles rocketed towards the _Glory, _as expected her gunners couldn't track all of the incoming warheads and impacts began to register on her shields, then the heavy rockets, sailed in and punched through the weakened screens and struck home, the communications tower went up in a short lived fireball.

"This is Captain Chapella of the _Black Knight_ the target is in evidence, I repeat, the _Glory _is here."

"Received _Black Knight_, task group jumping to your coordinates," came the immediate response.

Garin was breathing a sigh of relief when he saw a corvette exiting the hangar of To-Phalion and heading towards the _Glory_'s hangar bay. He swore, they'd gotten the _Vorknkx, _but at least he knew not to pursue it, he had to concentrate on other matters.

"This is Admiral Thrawn, I am leaving the combat zone, thank you for your support I will bring reinforcements shortly.

"Run you coward, but you can't hide from me, I will find you blue-skin."

At first Garin didn't realize who was speaking, then he connected the dots, that was Zaarin speaking! He really thought that Thrawn had been on that shuttle, no wonder the Defenders and Avengers had broken off. He checked his sensors and winced as he saw the enemy squadrons leaving the decimated fighters and bomber and returning to the main combat area. The three squadrons from the _Maru Ki _had paid in blood for the ruse. Then all hell broke loose as warships began jumping into the area, Garin smiled, the cavalry was here. It was a smaller force than what Thrawn had at his disposal as the main body of the task force was out trying to force an engagement with Zaarin's fleet, but it was more than the _Glory _could handle on her own a Star Destroyer, and Interdictor Cruiser, and two Strike Cruisers; Zaarin realized that he couldn't fight this new force as well and his Star Destroyer turned and began to leave the area.

Garin hoped that the Interdictor could get its wells up fast enough; if they could trap Zaarin here it would all be over. He watched the sensors, looking for the telltale gravity formations that would indicate a projected field, and then he saw the wedge representing the _Knight _moving into position between the _Glory _and her escape path.

He swore and keyed his com. "Iriana get clear!"

"Negative, we're going to stop him here sir."

"Get out of the way or he'll run you through; that is an order!"

Her voice was hard, "we will not let him escape sir."

Garin was desperate as he watched the massive shape of the _Glory _bear down on the smaller heavy cruiser; its guns were blazing but the _Knight _wasn't budging despite the vicious barrage that hit first the shields, and then once that collapsed the reflective plating, which was probably the only reason the smaller ship was still standing as the Destroyer bore down on it; to hell with secrecy.

"Dammit Iriana move that ship! There's a beacon aboard the karking corvette! We can track it!"

There was a pause, and when she spoke her voice was weak "oh hell, sir, I'm so sorry."

Garin bit his lip; he felt his insides twist as he watched the _Knight _begin maneuvering out of the way even as the _Glory_'s bow slammed into the top of her bridge; spearing straight through the cruiser's hull and passing clean through, leaving a trail of debris hanging off of the cruiser as the _Knight_ began to drift away aimlessly. The _Glory _leapt to hyperspace seconds later.

There was an eerie silence as the _Glory_'s handful of remaining fighters made their escape as the stunned pilots off of the _Knight _drifted; looking at what had been their home these past months as she listed heavily hanging in space helplessly.

"This is the _Maru Ki_, we are moving to assist the _Black Knight_. We've just received orders from Admiral Thrawn: he commends everyone for their efforts and asks that all intact ships rendezvous with the _Admonitor."_

"Oh gods," Vic'que's voice whispered, "the _Knight_…."

Her voice trailed off, Garin knew exactly what she was feeling, and it was worse for him. He'd known about the beacon, and if he'd just shared that with Iriana then she wouldn't have done something so stupid. He looked at the floating hull of the _Knight; _the top of the bridge was sheared clear off where the _Glory _had slammed into her, his com crackled.

"Lieutenant Commander, I understand your remorse but we need to move now, the Admiral needs us."

Stele's voice bit hard into his guilt, but he managed to respond. "Hades, move out to the _Admonitor_, we have a job to do."

The wing and the rest of the task group leapt to hyperspace, leaving To-Phalion and the _Maru Ki _to pick up the pieces of the battle.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbgringi Shipyards**

"Oh god, Commander, I—" Deanna shook her head, her gaze sympathetic. "I'm so sorry."

I raised an eyebrow, "I never thought I'd hear that from a Republic spook Lieutenant."

She didn't respond, instead biting her lip, "that ship was your home, the crew your family and you had to watch as some of them died in such a horrible way."

"They did their duty, and it hurt a great deal, but I don't think that it was anything compared to what you suffered, your entire home world destroyed."

That brought a nod of agreement from her as she looked across the table at me; there was something new in her eyes that I had to wonder at, was it respect?

"Please continue sir, if you can."

I nodded, leaning back against the chair as I recalled the pursuit of the _Glory._

"I'm still not sure if Zaarin realized that the beacon was on his ship, but eventually he stopped running, rallying what remained of his forces which had been fighting it out with the main task force. Our smaller force warped in and projected gravity wells. He had no where left to run….."

**Approximately five years earlier, Outer Rim Territories, Deep Space**

"This is _Admonitor _command, the _Repulse _is down,"

Garin rolled his Defender and watched in pleased satisfaction as one of Zaarin's Star Destroyers went dark as its forward hangar bay erupted into a nova, shattering the interior of the warship. Harth's Diamonds were flying in close to their targets and delivering proton bombs right into the hangars of some of the larger ships, the small inertial propelled warheads went straight through shields and could wreak havoc on a ship's hull, when dropped into an exposed hangar the results were spectacular there were two smaller Victory-class Star Destroyers who had been gutted in similar ways, the only issue with the tactic that Garin knew of was that the bombs were slow, and if someone shot them before reaching their targets then anything in the vicinity wasn't going to be there for long.

He selected his next target and fired into the hull of one of the few remaining enemy Defenders, their numbers had been so thinned that it was almost impossible to find any of Zaarin's more advanced fighter types, a missile flew in and lanced the wounded Defender and one of Stele's Avengers shot by. The group had the annoying tendency of popping up right when you were making a kill. Not that Garin was juvenile enough to care or complain, but he'd heard Toth, Matrin, and Kalan complaining considerably, along with several of the more competitive Hades members. Kalan and Matrin were convinced, and they were joined in this belief by others, that they were being shadowed by the Shrikes who were just waiting for a quick kill instead of making their own. Garin had seen a few very impressive shots pulled off by Stele's pilots so he knew that they were probably just trying to piss Hades off, from some of the chatter he heard over the com he knew they were doing a good job of it.

"This is Admiral Thrawn that was the last of the _Glory_'s screens, all bomber flights move on the command ship."

The hour long battle had wound down enough in the last several minutes that Garin felt perfectly sat ease just watching his sensors and observing the fighting. Sure enough the small blue pips that represented Imperial starfighters began converging on the one remaining red wedge; the others were grayed out to indicate their disabled status. There were still several active warships, but the _Glory_ was the largest and most dangerous. He rolled his fighter lazily and examined the bent prow of the Star Destroyer bitterly, and then something happened that brought a smile.

"For the _Knight,_" someone called over the com.

The call was echoed by other voices, and moment's later dozens of warhead launches were registered as Hades Wing's gun, missile, and blast boats, joined by other squadrons from the fleet, all opened fire with their munitions. The _Glory_, injured and bleeding put up a weak defensive screen but there really was nothing the wounded giant could do to save itself and Zaarin had to know it. As the first missiles impacted, Garin saw something moving beneath the Star Destroyer and swore.

"All units, the _Vorknkx _is launching from the bay of the _Glory, _Zaarin is likely making a run for it."

The dying Destroyer however gave a final shield for its master as the massive wedge shaped ship tilted and prevented any locks on the small corvette as the ship hid in the larger vessel's shadow. Then the _Glory_'s bridge exploded and the ship began to drift as its station keeping failed. Garin scanned the area and cursed, the _Vorknkx_ was no where to be seen. Zaarin had activated the cloaking device.

The voice from To-Phalion drifted over the com then, "Admiral Thrawn, I believe you've failed yet again to capture me, this will never be over. Once more I will—"

Whatever Zaarin had been about to say was cut off in static as an explosion registered beyond the _Glory._

"This is _Admonitor _command, the rogue is dead; I repeat, Zaarin is dead all remaining traitors, you are ordered to surrender yourselves and power down. Boarding parties will be sent to take command of your ships. If you surrender now you will be shown a leniency."

Garin wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he breathed a sigh of relief, there was not a single capital ship in Zaarin's fleet that didn't surrender, they recalled their fighters and powered down shortly after, all under the watchful eyes of Hades and other units who patrolled the motionless ships.

"Hades leader, you are to report to the _Black Knight._"

Garin felt a stab of pain, and keyed his com. "Command, the _Knight _is not in attendance."

"I respectfully disagree sir."

There was an explosion of chatter on the Hades band, when Garin was finally able to get a word in he was ecstatic.

"Kindran is that you?"

"I'm here sir, and so is Captain Chapella, though I'm afraid she has a concussion and is in medical. I have taken command from the CIC."

"How did you—"

"I was able to push us both through the airlock before the bridge was damaged, our compartment was undamaged thankfully and a handful of us were able to survive."

"Why didn't you inform me when you entered the battle?"

"We couldn't route any communications sir, we're using an external probe now as a wired relay."

"It's good to hear your voice Kindran, Hades coming home."

"We'll be waiting for you sir, congratulations."

Garin followed the beacon from the probe relay that the _Knight _had launched and found the familiar, if damaged, warship sitting amongst several sister ships, two other Vindicators and a pair of older Victories. Despite the ruptured bridge, she looked like she was ready to spring into the action alongside her stable mates.

"There's no place like home," Toth said reverently.

"Captain Luixana, I expect there to be a celebratory event in the recreation rooms, I will be turning loose my personal locker and I expect the same from you. Make sure it does the rounds."

Toth groaned, "Gar, I'll never see another drop."

"The crew has earned it; I expect your entire store to be in evidence." Garin said with a grin as he imagined the look of horror on his friend's face.

"Don't worry sir," Vic'que said coldly, sounding a bit too serious for the occasion. "I'll make sure every drop is made available."

"Oh space, I promise to be good, I really do!" Toth said jokingly.

Garin had to smile, victory seemed to have eased Vic'que's hostility some, he wondered how long it would last, and if it meant she was finally warming up to the rest of the unit. He hoped that it meant Daru would have an easier time of it as well, maybe the Kuati was willing to let things go now that this was all over.

"This is Shrike leader to Hades leader, permission to come aboard the _Knight_?"

Garin winced, one pain was gone, and another appeared, great. "Permission granted Commander, I assume your boys will be joining the party?"

"Until we get our next station, we'll tag along."

For all the emotion he put into his voice, Stele might as well have been a stone, Garin shook his head, Harth had competition.


	19. Chapter 18

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One,**_** Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Wait, what happened to Zaarin exactly?" Deanna asked in confusion.

I couldn't blame her for being confused; I'd been too exhausted at the time after over an hour of combat, between the running fight leading to that final engagement and To-Phalion Base, and the assumed loss of the _Knight _to give it much thought until later. Zaarin was dead, why did I care how?

"Thrawn had another ace up his sleeve, something he didn't even share with me."

"A booby trap then?"

I shook my head smiling fondly at the memory of Thrawn's conversation with me later that day, "no, nothing so obtuse. When he discovered that Zaarin had an interest in the project he falsified the reports on the _Vorknkx_'s operability. The cloaking device did work, however it could not be engaged in conjunction with the hyperdrive. It would result in a reactor overload and possibly cause a detonation of the ship's power plant."

Deanna leaned back in her chair, looking stunned as she shook her head in amazement. "He planned the entire thing, from the time Zaarin found out about the cloaking device to Zaarin's attempted escape. He planned every part of it."

"Well not all of it, he had no way of knowing that Iriana would throw the _Knight _at the _Glory _like that or that the _Glory _would be able to jam us so effectively. Ironically if I hadn't told Iriana to move when I did, then the _Glory _probably would have suffered far heavier damage, possibly even preventing her from running as far as she did before the damaged prow made it impossible for further hyperspace jumps."

"But that move gave her second officer the chance to save not only his own life but hers as well."

I nodded, remembering those last moments standing aboard the _Knight _when we'd all realized that the _Glory's _jamming was in evidence. Only seven of the bridge crew, those who had not been in the command pits, had managed to get out the airlock in time to save themselves; all those faces had been added to the numerous other losses that had already haunted me.

"Were those your only casualties the entire campaign?"

"Shockingly yes, we were one of the few units in the entire task force that could have been called elite. We all had enough flight hours and training to have an edge, even our reinforcements, as I already said were top notch. Our training regimes just made them better. Zaarin never had anyone that could touch us; he just had a lot more fighters. For the brief period that Stele was in the campaign, his unit never lost anyone either. We were the only two units to have that distinction though."

"What happened after that?"

"While the _Knight _underwent repairs the crew was given shore leave. A few of us, myself included, were invited to Coruscant to see Thrawn's promotion to Grand Admiral…."

**Approximately five years earlier, Imperial Center, the Imperial Palace**

"It's nice to finally be able to address him by his proper rank, don't you think?" Toth asked idly as he sipped at his drink; ever since disgorging his stash to the entire crew after the last battle he'd been sober, a state he wanted to remedy quickly.

"I'm just glad we can put this behind us." Garin said simply, he wanted to be back aboard the _Knight _again as soon as possible and go back to the duties previously assigned to the unit. Being with the main fleet again had reminded him why he hated the chain of command.

"Hey you two," they turned to see Kalan and Matrin walking towards them. "Harth sent us to find you; we have a friend who wants us to come with her."

Matrin gestured with his thumb and Garin spied the red head from the last party they'd attended and Thrawn's secret promotion as well standing in the exact same spot with Harth, his face turned sour.

"The Emperor again, what does he want this time I wonder?"

"We'll just have to find out I suppose," Toth said, downing the remainder of his drink in one go before nodding. "Okay, I'm ready."

Kalan and Matrin exchanged glances before grinning, both of them handed Toth their drinks simultaneously.

He took them and eyed the two glasses in bewildered horror. "You expect me to _choose?_" He asked in mock distress, Garin couldn't help it, he started laughing. At least the three of them could still make jokes despite the unwanted summons.

Once more they found themselves following the red head down a hidden corridor, though at least this time they had more of an idea of where they were going.

Garin quickened his step to walk besides their escort. "Since we seem to be running into each other rather frequently, can I ask your name?"

She didn't break her stride, just looking at him quietly for a moment. Garin had the unnerving feeling that he was being judged on the spot.

"Jade," she finally said quietly.

"Garin," he replied with a smile, "that's a lovely name."

She gave him a look that asked if he were an idiot, he shrugged. "I had to say something didn't I?"

He gestured over his shoulder, "that one is Toth, the one in the back is Harth, and the two children are Mat and Kal from left to right."

"Hi," chimed in Matrin with a smile, Kalan waved cheerily as Jade looked over her shoulder at the foursome behind her. Toth offered her the drink he was still carrying with him, she scowled at him and he just smiled in return. Harth didn't react at all to Jade's gaze, simply meeting it placidly as if she were any other person he might meet on the street.

"It's hard to believe that you're the ones who helped to eliminate that traitor," she said disbelievingly.

"Well it was the Grand Admiral actually," Kalan said authoritatively, "yeah," Matrin continued, "he's the brains, we're just the guns."

"I can see that," Jade responded, despite her annoyed tone Garin caught a smile in the dim light.

Then they'd reached the same door as before, guarded by the ever imposing Imperial Guardsmen, they really did give Garin the creeps, he had to wonder what exactly made men that eerily quiet. Stormtroopers were one thing, but the Guards were something else entirely.

The chamber looked the same as it had before, the Emperor sat upon his raised throne, Vader stood besides him, Thrawn, and this time Stele, were there as well. The former was a relief, but the latter was hardly comforting.

The Emperor waved to the red head as he had before, "enjoy yourself my dear, we shall speak later."

With that he turned towards Garin and the others, "I wish to congratulate you personally for your roles in bringing this insurrection to heel. Your performance has been exemplary and I cannot ask for a more skilled unit."

The unit had already received their decorations and citations and several members had been given medals for performing above and beyond. This was more than a 'thank you very much' ceremony. Garin looked at Stele; the pilot almost looked apologetic as their gazes locked. What exactly was going on?

The Emperor continued, his yellow eyes fixing on the five of them as he spoke in his withered voice. "Now I'm afraid that there will be some sad changes, due to a mishap during your last campaign, the missile boat is being withdrawn from service, I know that it formed a vital component of your unit, but I'm afraid that we cannot allow it to continue in active service."

Behind him he heard Harth's indrawn breath; there'd be no skipping over the order to revoke the boats this time, not with the Emperor telling them to nix them. They'd have to find another options, but what else was there? The gun boat perhaps, certainly none of the TIE bomber variants, none of them fit the unique mission profiles Hades operated.

"The other unfortunate change is that Grand Admiral Thrawn will be leaving us shortly, therefore you will be moved to Lord Vader's command."

Ice gripped Garin's chest and he had to force himself to stay calm as his heart rate accelerated. Working with the Dark Lord was supposedly a privilege, but the rumors about officers being murdered outright in front of their crews hung in the back of his mind. How could he protect his people against that? For another matter, how would Vader react to the non- and half-humans aboard the _Knight_? Would he allow their continued service? Daru in particular came to the front of his mind, he expected the Emperor to say more, but instead Vader spoke.

"The first order I am issuing you specifically Lieutenant Commander Durives is to relinquish command of Hades Wing and its attached units to Commander Stele who will be in command from this day forward."

There was a hushed silence, Garin had the sense to kneel and bow with a murmured "yes milord."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Wait, they took your unit away from you?"

I had to admit, she sounded more outraged than I'd felt, in fact I'd been too terrified of the people whose presence I'd been in to feel outraged. Stunned perhaps, but outrage I'd never have dared, I probably wouldn't have been sitting here—well maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad thing—if I'd been stupid enough to be outraged.

"Yes, I'm still not entirely sure if it was Vader's whim or Thrawn's grace."

"Excuse me?"

I looked at her, "considering everything I've told you so far, how long do you seriously think I'd have lasted as a direct subordinate to Darth Vader?"

Her expression spoke volumes and I nodded agreement, "exactly. With Stele in command, it meant that I was relatively safe from Vader's more hostile moments. Add to that the fact that Stele seemed to have a special relationship with both Vader and Palpatine meant that I could stay alive."

"What did Thrawn have to say about any of this?"

I smiled; she would love this, "the strangest thing I've ever heard any officer say to me…"

**Approximately five years ago, Imperial Center, Imperial Fleet Command**

"I apologize Commander, this wasn't entirely my doing."

Garin blinked and turned from the art adorning Thrawn's office walls, "entirely sir?"

"The Emperor has a project that was compromised by a single missile boat that one of Zaarin's subordinates tried to use to defect to the Rebellion; he concluded that we must remove all of them from service to ensure security."

The exchange of expressions that followed that announcement likely would have gotten them both shot despite Thrawn's rank.

"I can't believe this," Garin murmured, "what about Stele?"

"It was decided that a more traditional commander was needed for Hades' more traditional role. You are still the executive officer however."

"Do you expect me to challenge Stele when he has the Emperor and Vader blessing him?"

Thrawn smiled simply, "I expect exactly that, and in fact I am counting on it."

"Permission to speak freely sir," Garin said, his voice stiff.

"By all means," Thrawn said as he sat at his desk, his expression amused.

"You're using me, and my people for something, and I have no idea what it is but I'm fairly certain no one else realizes you're doing it either and if they did there would be hell to pay."

There was a long pause, and Garin felt sure that he had overstepped his bounds this time, until Thrawn started applauding, each clap sounded like a cannon shot in the echoing room.

"You're proving why I have given you this entire opportunity Commander," he stood and turned to face the window. "I fully intend to make use of you after this mission is completed, the Emperor, though a brilliant politician perhaps, is not a brilliant strategist. He believes overwhelming force and sheer terror to be the means to an ends when it is actually creating a means to his end."

Thrawn turned to eye Garin darkly, his red eyes glowing. "By forcing himself upon the galaxy, Palpatine is fueling the very Rebellion he hopes to quell. All his schemes and machinations merely serve to inflame the fires of rebellion further. Sooner or later, the Rebellion will see their opportunity, if they can survive that long, and they will topple Palpatine. When that happens, I will need men like you, and those that serve with you, to help stabilize this galaxy."

Garin's eyes narrowed, "I can't believe I just heard that."

"Good, because you didn't, if any of this conversation goes anywhere beyond this room I guarantee that you will not lost a week within the Empire."

Garin wondered if Thrawn was threatening him or warning him; he wasn't entirely certain which it was and nor was he sure he wanted to find out.

"What do you have in mind Admiral?"

"That will have to wait, and so will you. Wait for my return Commander, and I will show you something worth fighting and dying for that will put all your doubts at ease."

With that, Thrawn walked past Garin, leaving him alone in the massive office with its hundreds of art pieces wondering just what he'd gotten himself into when he'd survived Russani.

"So what do we do?" Toth asked.

"There isn't much we can do," Kalan said gloomily, Matrin nodded agreement.

"I might have something to help Captain Arusi at least," Daru spoke up quietly.

She was the only one of the assembled group that wasn't an officer, or a human. The fact that she was in the officers lounge had not gone unnoticed either, but when you're sitting with a group of sullen veterans nursing their drinks, even officers tend to leave you be.

"What do you have in mind?" Harth asked, his interest in the conversation rekindled.

"The missile boats, they're being put into storage right? Did they say what state they have to be in?"

Everyone blinked and exchanged looks, finally Vic'que spoke up. "Alright tails, what do you have in mind?"

"Delay the turn over, give my people a month to strip down the missile boats and file some requisitions and I think I can give you something."

"How do you expect us to delay Stele and his boys?" Matrin asked dubiously, "they're like sand panthers, watching everything the rest of unit does."

It was true; in the week since Stele and Shrike squadron had been assigned to Hades a definite 'new versus old' schism had formed. Thankfully Stele hadn't tried to transfer anyone out of the unit, Garin wasn't sure he could have protected the Shrikes or Stele from the already hostile crew in that scenario.

"I'll deal with Stele," Vic'que said with an unusually pleased smile.

Toth eyed her questioningly. "Why are you so helpful? For that matter, why are you drinking with us, I thought you hated most of the assembled."

"I don't particularly like any of you; Stele is much more to my liking. However I am part of this unit, and even I can tell when something needs to be done. None of the options for the missile boat's replacement are acceptable," she fixed Daru with a cool stare, Daru returned it silently. "If you can give us an option more suitable to our unit, then I will do everything I can to keep Stele occupied and distracted."

"You aren't going to sleep with him are you?" Matrin asked, suddenly looking very disturbed.

Everyone looked from Matrin to Vic'que disbelievingly who shrugged as she sipped her drink. "I was raised to be a give away prize in a genetic pool. This is hardly demeaning if it benefits us in the long run."

Garin looked at his drink, and wished he'd ordered a double or three, things seemed to be spiraling out of his control and he couldn't see how this was going to get better. Even Vic'que was being helpful.


	20. Chapter 19

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_**, Imperial Center**

"I don't recall there being any unit wide assemblies today." Stele said stoically, standing across the lift from Garin.

"Something came up sir."

"I'm sure it did, this wouldn't have anything to do with those skeletons we turned over to the supply cruiser would it?"

Garin blinked and shrugged calmly; "I honestly have no idea, the Chief just said she wanted to show us something."

Stele's eyes narrowed as the lift came to a half and they stepped off and moved out into the hall. "Do not kark around with me Lieutenant-Commander, Thrawn might have tolerated your antics but this is a different unit now. Hades is under my command."

Garin nodded obediently, "yes sir."

Stele continued to glower at him until they reached the hangar deck, Daru had requested all pilots and officers be present and if Stele was anything he was a performer and never showed the other side of his command. He and Garin hardly saw eye to eye on most things, and when Daru had issued this summons his first reaction was to call Garin to his cabin and accuse him of circumventing the chain of command in acquiring new weaponry. Garin took his lessons from Matrin and Kalan and simply played innocent. Not that Stele believed him, but it didn't really matter. Both of them knew that ninety percent of the unit was behind Garin and there was little Stele could do to him if wanted to keep unit cohesion. The Emperor had specifically forbidden the disbandment of the unit because he didn't want to lose it unique skill-set for unconventional warfare should the need for it arise, even if he'd allowed Lord Vader to supplant the commanding officer. Garin didn't care if Stele had more medals and flight time, he was a grunt; the only tactic he knew was to throw his pilots at the enemy until one side ran out of pilots. It wasn't an endearing trait.

The hangar lighting was extinguished except for the entrance areas, beyond that the rest of the hangar was dark; Daru and her team of technicians, mechanics and what have you stood in front of the assembled crowd of pilots and officers.

Toth came to stand next to Garin, "sorry for not seeing you earlier sir."

"How was the Major?"

"She's still under the weather; doctors aren't sure what she contracted. They think its some kind of flu."

Garin glanced over at Stele who was watching Daru expectantly; ever since Stele had come aboard as the commander, relationships aboard ship had evaporated. Sissir and Toth now did everything secretly and anyone that so much as looked at the opposite sex got work detail and a dressing down at best. Granted, those who paid attention realized that he and Vic'que had been seeing each other behind closed doors. She seemed to delight in the relationship from what Garin had learned that Stele, according to ship wide rumor, was a cold fish but entertained her attentions. Whatever Vic'que had done, it had worked and Stele had allowed the missile boat turn over to be delayed for a month. Daru, true to form, had them stripped inside of three weeks and then had simply disappeared; that wasn't to say that her people hadn't been doing their jobs, no they'd been doing them, in fact they'd been doing them at a greater level of proficiency than they'd ever done under combat conditions.

Garin had come to suspect this was Daru's way of keeping attention off of her other work, and personally he had no complaints. He knew that if she said she had an idea, to let her run with it; and even if he wasn't in command, he could still make use of his people; even the ones that were normally his worst enemies, Vic'que case in point.

"Thank you everyone for coming on such short notice," Daru began, drawing everyone's attention forwards, "I want especially to thank Commander Stele for allowing my people to have the time necessary to do what was needed."

Garin smiled, she was good; by making it sound like it had been Stele's idea in the first place it both prevented her from looking like she'd gone behind his back, which was the case, and also gave him credit for whatever she'd created even if he'd had nothing to do with it.

"As everyone is aware, we've had to turn over our missile boats which meant that Diamond needed a replacement. However, none of the current mass production models for strike or bomber craft were found acceptable for the role. So we decided to take matters into our own hands and with Captain Arusi's assistance we created this."

She gestured behind her, and on cue the lights went up, revealing twelve factory new fighters, they looked like someone had gotten the work orders for a missile boat and a TIE Advanced Mark One confused, but even if they weren't pretty, Garin had to admit that they looked lethal.

Daru stepped off the ladder she'd been standing on as a holoprojector cast an image of the fighter above the lined up squadron.

"We call the project Diamond Blue," she said, sounding just a bit embarrassed, Garin looked over at Matrin and Kalan and found what he suspected, broad grins. Stele had yet to stifle their…_creative _method of work theory.

"We took the basic frame of the Mark One Advanced and reworked the power plant and engines with parts from the Mark Two Advanced, giving the Diamond Blue a speed slightly faster than the Mark One, but slower than the Mark Two, though it is less maneuverable than the Avenger for obvious reasons." She motioned at the holo and parts began to highlight as she described them.

"We kept the two under slung lasers, but stripped away the port and starboard concussion missile launchers, replacing them with the heavy laser and beam weapon mounts from the missile boat on port and starboard respectfully, the power routings have been changed accordingly to manage for the additional power required for these weapons and there is no loss of overall performance."

The four bulbous missile housings mounted to the left and right, above and below the cockpit highlighted next.

"We transferred the missile launchers and ordnance pods from the missile boat to these ventral and dorsal positions. They can carry the same magazine of forty concussion missiles in the missile pods; the ordnance pods are also unchanged from their previous configuration and can either carry the same forty missiles, or a mixture of other armaments."

She went on to describe the upgraded avionics and targeting systems, the upgraded shields, new hull plating and armor to make the ordnance and missile pods flush with the hull and a myriad of other tweaks that had been made to make the TIE/DB a viable fighting platform. By the time she'd finished her description of the new fighter, even Stele looked impressed, and he was the first to start applauding her work. Garin took note that most of the Shrike's did not follow their leader's example and remained silent, a few of them eying Daru with the same hatred that Vic'que often graced the twi'lek with, though even Lieutenant Sajuuk was looking at Daru with that strange kind of pride that comes from serving together at the moment. He made note of the ones with that hateful expression; if anything happened to Daru he'd know who to go to with a few commandos as back up.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"She created an entirely new design from scratch?" Deanna said in shock.

"Well we had the spare parts, all she needed was the stripped components from the missile boats and some TIE Advanced frames which she requisitioned as a priority using the unit's logistics code."

"I assume your unit had a special code for that sort of thing?"

I nodded, taking a sip of water before stretching. "How much longer do we have to do this exactly?"

"Until I have everything I need Commander, we're still three years back I believe." She examined her notes, "your work under Vader's command, what was it?"

"Nothing pleasant, we were usually ordered to suppress uprisings, in many cases we were ordered to destroy entire communities."

"And you did?" Her voice was accusatory.

"We didn't have much choice really, Vader kept us on a tight leash, and with Stele's men aboard we had even less maneuvering room."

"I don't understand, they were just normal people weren't they? Aside from their standing with Vader and the Emperor I mean."

"That's what we all thought, until one of them slammed one of our troopers into a wall without even touching him."

Her eyes widened as she absorbed what I had just said, "they were force sensitive?"

"Oh they were more than sensitive; they were trained and knew how to use it to beat the drives out of anyone that misbehaved. When we realized what we were dealing with it became rather obvious that they weren't just there to give Vader and the Emperor more control over us," I took a long draw on the water, emptying my glass and eying it dubiously.

"More?" She asked.

"Could I have something heavier? If I keep drinking all this water I'm going to need a bathroom."

"Then you can use the bathroom, I can't give you alcohol and you know it."

I snorted and shook my head, "oh well, can't blame a guy for trying."

"What were Stele and his men Commander?"

"They were executioners put there to make sure we stayed in line, and to eliminate us if necessary; we were just glad that they didn't carry lightsabers. Our particular skill-set, while useful to the Empire, also made us seem like a likely candidate for defection." I smiled ironically, "if any of them, Vader, Palpatine, or Stele, realized how close we came to defecting just before the Zaarin campaign they would have had us killed immediately."

"How many members of the crew came to this realization?"

"Oh quite a few, as a matter of fact, once the officers figured it out, it seemed like most of the enlisted men had already realized it."

My expression must have betrayed something because she frowned, "something special happened I assume that makes this standout?"

"Remember when I told you I'd give you details about my personal relationships when they were chronologically relevant?"

She nodded, looking at me a little suspiciously as I smiled fondly at the memory surfacing in my mind of one night just after we'd pounded some half-starved town into the dust as an example to the rest of the planet….

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_**, deep space**

Garin rolled over in his bed, glaring at the chrono on his desk, he'd barely lain down, why was someone bothering him now? If it was so damned important they should go wake up Stele. The knock came again, and why in space weren't they using the karking door chime? He stood and walked over to his refresher, leaning against the sink and splashing water on his face, he contemplated putting something other than his undershorts on, but then decided to hell with it, they wanted to wake him up they could deal with the consequences. The knock came a third time, more urgently now and he scowled at the offending door as he left the refresher station and headed towards the door, this had better be important or he was going to skin someone.

He palmed the door and nearly had a heart attack as Sissir stood up, scowling as she replaced the command splicer to her belt.

"About time you answered," she said in annoyance, "I was about to breach the door."

"Why are you trying to break into my quarters in the first place?" Garin said with a growl, feeling like a moron for coming to the door in his underwear now, especially since Sissir was dressed in full infiltration kit, "and what the hell are you doing running around the ship dressed like that?"

"Making sure Stele's men know I mean business, I don't care if they are force freaks, if they try anything I'd have broken more than a few bones;" she clenched her fist, her knuckles cracking threateningly. "They want to mess with us; I'll show them how effective their force is against a trained commando."

Garin leaned against the door jam, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me you didn't come here and try to break down my door just to tell me you were going to kill someone."

Her voice softened and she reached out past Garin's field of vision, "come on Blue, I don't want to leave you out here forever."

Garin frowned, Blue? What was Da—oh; his mind went blank as Daru stepped into his view, looking rather embarrassed, even shamed, though also terrified. She wasn't wearing her normal utility jumpsuit, she was wearing a two piece white dress, with a top that ended just above her navel and a long skirt that flowed around her legs with slits up to her thighs. Garin shook his head, staring dumbly at her, he hardly recognized her, Sissir rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the cheek.

"And Toth is supposed to be the unit's drunk; wake up sir."

He shook himself, casting a reproachful glare at Sissir, she returned his gaze stonily and he realized that he really didn't have anything to say; he was standing in his doorway practically naked with an armed commando and a dressed up CDO who looked like she belonged in someone's dream…for that matter was this a dream? The stinging of his cheek argued otherwise.

"Uh…" he shook his head, stepping aside. "Come in?"

Daru moved past him, she looked ashamed, just what in space was going on here? He looked at Sissir expectantly; she snorted and patted him on the shoulder like he was the town dummy.

"Sorry sir, I'm a one man kind of girl, be nice, she's having a rough time."

Garin turned away from the door as it whooshed closed and turned in the darkened room to see Daru sitting quietly on the couch against the wall. He went to his desk and produced Toth's latest gift and a glass, he lifted it up and she nodded quietly, her gaze never meeting his. He placed the glass before her and she took a long hard pull, swallowing the entire glass in one go, and then started coughing violently, which shortly turned to sobs.

"I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot, I'll go. I thought--"

She didn't finish as she stood and made for the door, he caught her arm and pulled her close, she froze like a hunted animal as he put his arms around her gently the soft silk of her dress conforming to both their bodies as they touched. She shivered as he stroked her brain tails soothingly, closing her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I don't quite understand Chief, you're the one dressed up and I'm wearing nothing but my underwear. Shouldn't I be the one feeling like an idiot?"

She managed a laugh and put her arms around his shoulders, holding him tightly as she continued to cry fitfully. Garin did actually feel like an idiot because he really had no idea what was going on; or for that matter, if this was just some crazed dream, and he was really just laying in bed sound asleep fantasizing about his Crew Chief. Though if it were he'd have expected to be dressed a little more conspicuously considering that she was dressed for a party, for that matter, wouldn't he be fantasizing a nicer place for them to be?

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

Deanna stared at me dumbly, "what in space?"

I chuckled, "yes, those were my exact thoughts."

"No, I'm serious Commander, what did you just tell me?" She said, sounding as bewildered as I'd felt that night.

I looked at her plainly, smiling with a shrug. "Do you want me to tell you the rest of the story Lieutenant?"

She shook her head, leaning forwards on her elbows. "You're serious, your CDO came to your cabin in the middle of the ship's night cycle dressed like she was going to a ball and you greeted her in your underwear?"

"That's exactly what happened," when she put it like that, I really did sound like an idiot, but that was part of the fun of the incident I suppose.

"Remember when we were talking about holodramas before Commander?" I nodded, pretty sure I knew where this was going as she continued; "well this is a really sappy one."

I grinned and shrugged, "I wish I was making it up, it does sound pretty bad though, and you haven't even heard the reasons for her being there…."

Author's Note: If I have any artists in my readers and you feel like drawing the Diamond Blue, feel free to do it, I can barely sketch let alone draw a fighter. Just be sure to share your work with me, I'd love to see it. Also, for those of you that think the TIE/DB is ridiculous, sorry, I decided to take a liberal hand in this case for author created material and had a lot of fun doing it….and plus, if you've read half the Star Wars novels you'll find a whole crap load of TIE slap jobs…I mean hell, Zaarin did it didn't he? As for Daru, you are now seeing the original reason I included her character in this story, however I am happy to say that she evolved into more of a character (and a damned fine mechanic) than a plaything otherwise she'd never have been able to stay in the story…sorry if this story arc seems a bit juvenile or obvious to some people, I couldn't resist though.


	21. Chapter 20

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_**, deep space**

They had moved back to the couch, Daru lay atop Garin as he leaned against the couch back, still only in his underhorts. She was silent now, just holding onto him as if he might vanish if she didn't keep a hold of him. For his part, he stroked her lekku which certainly seemed to go a long way towards calming her.

"Gar," she murmured finally, "I'm scared."

He frowned, looking down at her. "Did one of the Shrikes hurt you?"

She shook her head, looking up at him, and he could see the fear on her features as she looked at him. "I've seen and heard them around the ship; they don't always realize that I listen to them."

"I think everyone keeps an eye on them Daru," again she shook her head.

"I was in the hangar, working on one of their Avengers, I was on the top of the hull, so they didn't see me, they were talking about you; they think that Stele should have you executed, and even went so far to say that they might do it themselves if he wouldn't."

Garin didn't know how to react to that, he was a pilot in the Imperial Navy, someone always wanted to kill him, but to have fellow pilots thinking of killing him was a little unnerving to say the least.

"I don't think they'll act on it Daru."

"You didn't hear them Gar, they meant it, and they were talking about cold blooded murder. They want to get rid of all of the original officers from Hades, according to them though, Stele has ordered them not to touch any one."

Stele was protecting Hades from his own people? Just who was he dealing with here?

"There's more, I've noticed tattoos on their left arms, and at first I wasn't sure why I recognized them but I kept thinking about it and I remembered this morning finally, while you were out…" she hesitated there, and Garin could understand why, he wasn't proud of what Hades had been doing on these past few missions. "…on your mission, they're from when I was still a slave on Coruscant. They're given to members of the Emperor's so called Inner Circle."

Garin frowned, he'd never heard of an 'Inner Circle' before, he eyed Daru skeptically but she persisted.

"I wasn't stupid Garin, I listened to everything that was said around me so that I might have something to make my master happy and gain the precious free times he allowed me. I remember hearing some of the aristocrats describing the Circle and their tattoos, and at another party I saw the tattoos themselves. They're selected by Palpatine because of their force acuity and they act as his agents within the Empire."

Well that explained the force prowess that the Shrikes had certainly, so he was dealing with a squadron of Inner Circle fanatics that thought he and his officers needed to be disposed of; this was getting worse by the minute, and he got the feeling that she wasn't done telling him everything.

"They haven't threatened you have they?"

She smiled bitterly, "they make Sajuuk look kind, and in fact she's been almost nice to me since I pulled this past stunt with the Diamond Blue project. I think she's finally accepting me, just my luck that we get an influx of xenophobes right as that happens, but they haven't done anything to me."

"You didn't have the Major escort you down here for no reason Daru." He said reproachfully, if someone was threatening her personally, he wanted to know.

"I saw a lot of things as a slave Gar…one of them were people's eyes and I learned how to read them, Most of the Shrikes, when they look at me, do so with that disdain that Imperials generally have for non-humans…a few though." She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself, he put his arms around her as well; worried that she might burst into tears again. "Gar…they look at me _hungrily_, like I'm a slab of choice meat at market. It's frightening; I didn't want to come here alone because of that."

He nodded; he could fully understand the Shrike's glances, Daru, human or not was beautiful. He could also understand Daru's reaction to those looks, given her past experiences.

"I won't let them hurt you Daru, the Shrikes might be a problem, but we outnumber them. They can't fight all of Hades."

"They don't need to Garin, and you know it, they just need to get you, and a few others that give this unit its core and its all over."

"We won't let that happen," she looked up at him as he spoke, he'd never seen, or even imagined, that she could look so helpless and terrified. Someone who had walked up to a superior human officer and slapped her without so much as a blink wasn't someone he expected to panic like this.

"Garin…I…I don't want to lose this, Hades is my home. I've felt safe here until now, it's been like the family that I lost; and now that's being taken from me. I'm so afraid."

He put his arms around her, holding her closely as she leaned against him, closing her eyes and resting against the rise and fall of his chest. After a moment she looked up at him, sliding across his body, her strapless top hanging down around her shoulders as she did so, he tensed cautiously as she put a hand behind his head and lifted her face up to his.

"I don't want to lose you Garin…I think I love you." She whispered into his mouth as their lips touched, it was gentle, almost a hesitant kiss at first, but then his hand slid under her lekku and he pulled her close, wrapping his other arm around her waist and pulling her cool body against him as they kissed. He never kissed another species before, ever, which was strange as he considered her texture and taste considering where he'd grown up, there had been no shortage of attractive females of every species where he'd lived. He'd just never considered kissing them. Daru tasted spiced, and she left a warm crackling feeling in his mouth as they parted. She was looking up at him searchingly, as if she expected to find something there, he ran his hand along the underside of her lekku, her eyes closed and she let out a shudder as her body tensed involuntarily.

She placed a hand on his chest, and pushed him off the back of the couch and onto the seat, leaning against him and running her fingers across his chest as her silvery-blue eyes gazed into his golden eyes. "You're the first one I've ever wanted like this," she seemed to shrink slightly, "it isn't like any of the others Gar…they were all forced I—"

She stopped as he put a finger on her lips, "you were a slave Daru, whatever you did it wasn't what you wanted. I'll never hold any of that against you." He smiled at her playfully, "besides if you hadn't been a slave would you have been able to realize what we were dealing with right now?"

She managed a smile, taking his finger and working her mouth over it before leaning back down and kissing him tenderly, as the night wore on, he didn't feel nearly as silly for only having his underwear on.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

Deanna was still taking notes after I finished, she finally looked up from her datapad with a thoughtful expression.

"She really did love you then?"

I shrugged my smile fond as I recalled all the places that evening had gone, "she thought she did, and I felt the same."

"Where did she get the dress anyways? It isn't like she had it stored away waiting to slip it on to come see you."

I chuckled, leaning back a little as I shifted. "Thrawn gave it to her as a goodbye gift, she told me his exact words were: 'you shouldn't have to tell someone you care dressed like a mechanic.'" I snorted at the thought those words evoked, he really had planned for everything.

Deanna just blinked and shook her head, "the more you tell me about Thrawn, the scarier he becomes, and the happier I am that he's dead."

I nodded, not really in agreement but in understanding, I could fully understand how Thrawn would terrify his opponents, given how he always seemed to be two steps ahead. Thinking of being steps ahead, my smile faltered at memories that rose to the surface of my mind.

She frowned then, "something happened?"

"Nothing special we kept fighting as Vader commanded, and kept an eye on the Shrikes while we were at it."

"That wasn't what I meant; I mean something happened to Daru."

"Our relationship stayed a secret from everyone; we never told anyone beyond Major Yvonne and through her Captain Luixana learned about it. Both of them kept it a secret, especially after I told them what Daru had told me that night. Whenever Daru visited me, the Major always came with her in full gear. Nothing ever happened so we eventually trusted that nothing ever would."

"But some of the Shrikes made a move didn't they?" She said, her mind connecting the dots without any further prompting.

My smile turned pained as I nodded, "life is never as simple as we might wish, I suppose you're learning that right now aren't you…."

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight, **_**deep space**

The Lieutenant slammed into the wall violently, his companions triggered a force blast that sent the mechanic reeling and knocked him into another of the Shrikes, who jeered and tossed the poor man back at his opponent who slammed his fist into the disoriented man's gut. Any further violence was interrupted a moment later by a rifle shot that whizzed above the group's heads, the seven Shrikes turned cautiously to find Major Yvonne and eight of her commandos in full combat gear standing behind them, their blasters leveled at the pilot's chests. One of them was stupid enough to go for his sidearm, his hand disintegrated in a flash of blasterfire and blood. The Major moved towards the group, kicking the now moaning pilot out of her way heartlessly as she knelt down and helped the injured mechanic to his feet.

"Are you alright?" She asked, he nodded clutching his ribs and pointed towards the corner of the corridor.

The Major looked; whatever compassion had been in her eyes vanished as she stood and turned to the pilot who had been fighting the mechanic, drawing her pistol in one smooth motion and firing into his forehead without so much as batting an eyelash, he dropped like a stone. His companions made as if to attack her, but another warning shot from the commandos kept them glued to the deck. The Major holstered her weapon and went to the limp form lying in the corner, Daru didn't even move as Sissir put her arms around her, lifting her up from the deck, her clothes were tattered and her slender form was covered in blood and bruises, when Sissir had her firmly in her grip, Daru finally moved, clutching the front of the Major's uniform like a terrified infant, her eyes were unseeing. As soon as Sissir and the mechanic had moved past the hateful faces of the Shrikes, she nodded and her commandos opened fire, blue stun bolts raked the hallway and the five standing pilots fell to the deck, one of the commandos stepped up to the groaning man on the deck and fired a stun shot point blank into his torso, the pilot twitched once before going limp.

Stele killed the holofeed and turned to face Garin, his eyes cold. "What did we just see?"

Garin's lips were a thin line, he didn't care what Stele thought, he could burn in whatever hell or hells he believed in. "I would say we just witnessed a case of military justice sir."

"Don't talk back to me Durives, this is serious. One of my men is dead, another in the infirmary without a hand and five more are in the brig."

"And two of mine are in the infirmary, one of them badly beaten with three broken ribs among other things, the other assaulted, and nearly beaten into a coma. She'll be lucky if she can perform her job again after this, she's still unconscious and the medics aren't sure if she'll wake up in one hour or one month."

Stele's eyes narrowed dangerously as he examined Garin, "you care for her." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact. "I thought I forbade such things when I took command of this unit."

"With all due respect you Sith-spawn," Garin said acidly, "even if I despised the Chief instead of loved her, I would still side with Major Yvonne and say her actions were just."

"I'm sure you would, your service until now has been unorthodox at best as far as I can tell, and I told you I wouldn't tolerate your antics or those of your people when I took command."

Garin had been standing at attention, now he leaned over Stele's desk and looked him in the eye. "If your men are not held responsible for this, I promise you you'll have six more dead pilots before our next mission."

Stele took a deep breath, Garin wondered if he was about to find himself flying across the room courtesy of Stele's force powers, but that didn't happen. Stele's features collapsed into an unreadable mask and he leaned back in his chair.

"Do you know what my orders are in regards to this unit Lieutenant-Commander?"

"To kill us if we get out of line."

Stele winced, looking up at him bitterly. "I suppose that's about right, I wish you'd put it another way, but I can't sugarcoat it given what we just watched."

He turned in his chair and leaned forwards, staring at the wall, Garin didn't move. "I've never felt so lost in my entire career, I joined thinking the Empire was everything, now I'm being ordered to watch and even kill if necessary a unit that by all accounts is one of the Fleet's best, even if it isn't official."

"If you're looking for sympathy sir, you're looking in the wrong place."

The remark seemed to actually pain Stele, he recoiled as if struck. "You cared for her that deeply then, to the point that your loyalty to the Empire no longer matters."

"Yes sir, and my loyalty to my people supersedes any oath I swore to this Empire or its Emperor, these past few _atrocities _we've committed have proven that I'm not serving a force that I can respect."

Stele sighed heavily, "it's so easy for you to throw all this away; the Empire gave me a sense of order, of stability."

"I did a background check sir; you want to know what I found?"

Stele turned to face Garin watching him expectantly as he continued, "we have nearly identical backgrounds, you were raised by your mother, I was raised by my sister and two cousins, we both started racing as a way to escape the worlds we grew up in, we joined about the same time and our first tours were equally disastrous. After that though, we deviate to the extreme, you've found yourself increasingly alienated and unsure of who you can trust, whereas I've formed a unit that I trust with my life, some members of it I would even call family. Your Shrikes aren't even men you've trained with; they're just more of Palpatine's puppets assigned to your command so you can keep an eye on us."

Stele stared at Garin for a long time before he finally spoke, when he did, his voice was back to the stone cold timber that he normally addressed his subordinates with. "Your people aren't going to be punished; my pilots will remain in the brig until we reach our next deployment area."

Garin's voice resumed the formal tone more appropriate to their respective ranks, "where are we being deployed to?"

"We are joining with Lord Vader's fleet around a planet called Endor, more specifically around a small terrestrial moon of the planet…."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Oh god, those bastards," whispered Deanna.

She looked at my expression and nodded understandingly, "you still hate them don't you."

I didn't move, my mind flashing to Endor as a grim smile played across my face. "There was plenty of time to make sure they got what they deserved."

"I can't believe this, Imperial personnel attacking and shooting one another like that, and Stele let you get away with it."

"By that point I think we'll both agree that the only thing keeping us tied to the Empire was the knowledge that Vader and probably the Emperor were watching us very closely and would have killed us as soon as they thought we'd outlived our usefulness."

"Can you tell me more?" She sounded almost apologetic, even sympathetic.

"I'll tell you about Endor, I don't want to talk about Daru for the time being."


	22. Chapter 21

**Approximately five years earlier, approaching the Second Death Star, orbiting Endor**

Garin, Toth, Matrin, Harth, and Kalan stood on the bridge of the _Knight _looking at the incomplete gray sphere hanging in space above the blue green moon.

"If that's a mining station I'm the next Emperor." Muttered Matrin, the others nodded agreement.

"This is getting worse all the time, at least under Thrawn we weren't being assigned to wipe out entire communities for no apparent reason." Toth said, glaring at the unfinished station.

"Or protecting doomsday machines," Kalan agreed.

"We're being used." Harth replied.

Garin mused that they were always being used by someone, whether by Thrawn or the Emperor; it was just a matter of which they preferred being used by. He suspected that the others felt the same way he did and preferred Thrawn; it was probably the easiest supposition he'd ever have to make in his life.

"For better or worse," he said quietly so only they could hear, "the window for leaving the Empire closed after we submitted the Zaarin data. We're stuck here now and we'll just have to live with that."

"Or die with it," Kalan said with a smile. "There's going to be a battle here, a big one too if I'm right about this, it's the largest slight of hand in history."

Everyone looked at him curiously, his smile turned dark. "The Rebels are coming here to attack the station, they're going to try and destroy it or capture it or whatever they intend to do. While all their attention is on the station, the fleet is going to jump them."

"They can't be that stupid;" Toth said looking at the station, "can they?"

"I hope not," Matrin said, still looking at Kalan, "otherwise we've been fighting against a bunch of half-wits."

"Not our job to worry about it," Harth said coolly, finally speaking. "We just have to follow orders." Garin shifted uncomfortably as Harth's gaze turned to him, "right sir?"

He nodded his voice a whisper "just stay alive long enough and we'll find another opening, and then we'll make our choice."

"Not before we kill some Shrikes though," Toth said hungrily, he sounded all too happy at the prospect of killing other Imperials. Garin felt much the same way; he just hoped that Toth didn't let the Shrikes in on it. If Kalan was right about this, there'd be plenty of time for friendly fire to take its toll in the coming days.

"That is a big ship," Matrin said, changing the subject as readily as if they were talking about the weather.

Garin followed his gaze and nodded, the _Executor _was massive, it dwarfed the Star Destroyers hanging around it; if he'd had to face her he'd certainly be having second thoughts about his life expectancy. He counted the number of warships assembled around the Super and shook his head, this was the biggest fleet he'd ever served with there was no denying that. There were thirty some Star Destroyers arrayed around the _Executor_ and every now and again he could see smaller warships silhouetted against the larger ships.

"They pulled out all the stops for this one," Matrin observed, "I'm seeing everything from Imperials and Imperators to Victorys and Vindicators."

"Those smaller ships are probably Carracks and Lancers some of those Vindicators might be Immobilizers; they're pretty hard to tell apart at this range, I see some Strikes and Nebulons in there as well." Harth said quietly.

"And I'm counting at least three Escort Carriers, how many fighters does that make?" Kalan said in astonishment as he counted the numbers in his head.

"Hundreds, perhaps thousands if they're all fully stocked;" Harth answered his expression empty of emotion. "Plus the station itself might have even more."

"Do the Rebels even have this many warships in their entire inventory let alone a single fleet?" Toth asked dubiously, "this seems like a whole lot of overkill for what everyone claims is a ragtag force."

"We've seen the Rebellion firsthand Toth," Garin reminded him, "do they seem like an unorganized rabble to you?"

"True," Toth said, "but still, I don't think the Rebellion has anything to match this."

"I've never seen it, but apparently those Mon Cal Cruisers, the bigger ones, can slug it out with Imperials and even Imperators, and the Victorys can't even touch them." Matrin supplied.

"Which means of course that none of our cruiser classes can touch them either;" Toth said, wincing. "Why is the _Knight _here again?"

"Because she carries one of the most elite fighter units in the Empire," all five of them jumped and turned to see Stele and Vic'que joining them. The former looked just as discomforted by the view as the rest of them did, while the latter seemed to only be paying attention to the former.

"Commander," Iriana said, joining the group. "We've received orders to form with the rest of the fleet; our trooper detachment is to be transferred to the Sanctuary Moon to reinforce the garrison already in place."

"Very well," Stele said, "carry out your orders, I'll be in CIC."

With that he left just as swiftly as he'd come, Vic'que stayed behind; Toth eyed her with a rather disturbed expression.

"You know we don't need you to do that anymore."

She shrugged, her smile a little pompous, "being his mistress has certain benefits; that's enough to warrant remaining where I am."

Matrin and Kalan exchanged looks before smiling, "just be sure that when he dumps you," the former began, "it isn't out an airlock." the latter finished.

Vic'que sniffed indignantly and looked out at the fleet they were rapidly approaching, a smile playing across her features.

"Do you realize what they're planning?" She asked quietly.

Garin nodded using Kalan's phrasing, "a massive sleight of hand."

Her smile broadened, "yes, but there's more to it than that. Maarek told me about the Emperor's true intent here."

"Whatever he intends," Matrin said offhandedly, "I'm sure he'll enjoy the next day holonews from the safety of his thrown room."

"He's here," Vic'que said simply.

That comment froze everyone to the spot, even Iriana, standing a short distance away monitoring the ship's operations, paused in her work at that. The ultimate bait, an unfinished battle station, none of them believed the mining station spin after seeing it for themselves, and the ruler of the Empire in one spot; the Rebels couldn't afford to miss this.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"What did you think of it?"

"Of what," I asked, scowling, she really needed to learn how to phrase her questions.

"The Death Star, you told me before you had no idea what it was until Endor. So what did you think once you saw it?"

I considered my reaction at the time of the assembly, sighing heavily. "It solidified what I'd already begun to feel. That we were fighting on the wrong side, or at least for the wrong people."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning," I said pointedly leaning forwards, "that if Thrawn had decided to pull the same stunt as Zaarin had mere months before, we would have gladly joined his side, even if it meant facing the entire Imperial Fleet."

"So by that point you were completely disillusioned?"

"The only illusion we held onto was that Thrawn might have a better way of doing things, in fact we were all of us, and certain he did. Palpatine, Vader, and the Imperial Court had the wrong idea; we all realized that fully when we joined the fleet at Endor. There was no need for monsters like that in the galaxy, or for their weapons, the Super Star Destroyers pushed the limit, the Death Stars broke it and ground it into dust."

"So if the Rebellion had approached you directly at that point and made you an offer?"

"We might have accepted, the only thing, as I said, keeping us tied to the Empire by that point was the fact that it was obvious that our defection was exactly what the Emperor and Vader were watching for. We weren't of a mind to get ourselves killed needlessly and without Thrawn we didn't feel that we stood a chance on our own."

She shook her head, laughing a little, "to think that if we'd been able to contact you then, we would have gotten one of the most skilled fighter units in the Empire along with a heavy cruiser."

I smiled, amused by her assessment, "yes, two fully operational squadrons of advanced TIE models, another of gunboats and a fourth of our Diamond Blues, plus five Skiprays and assorted support craft; eighty commandos, two hundred and eighty fleet troopers and an entire heavy cruiser and her crew; would have been quite a haul if you had approached us."

"How much of the unit would have gone along though?"

"Considering the unique nature of our unit," I said with a smile, the very thought of us defecting back then raising all kinds of 'what if' scenarios; "you would have gotten nearly every core member of our unit, in other words most of our officers and specialists would have happily joined. The grease and grind crew member I wouldn't be able to speak for, but we were a very close knit unit by that point, with the exception of the Shrikes and a few outstanding individuals and newer members we got in transfers, most considered our first loyalties to our unit rather than the Empire."

She considered me for a moment before she spoke again, "was that something Thrawn planned for do you think?"

My smile remained in place, "I've never been sure of that, considering what he eventually tried, it is quite possible that he fully intended to create a crew that would be loyal to itself first and Empire second so that when the time came he would have at least one major combat asset he could rely upon without a shadow of a doubt."

"So what happened at Endor during the run up to the battle?"

"We moved our trooper compliment planetside, keeping Major Yvonne and her commandos aboard since the order didn't stipulate they needed to be moved with the troops, and then we received our next order from Vader after the last supply shuttle went planetside. The fleet was to reassemble on the far side of the Sanctuary Moon and await further commands. It was about that time we heard rumors of sightings of the Rebel Fleet massing at Sullust, reports were sketchy, but as we learned later, you managed to commit a great deal of your forces to the battle which summed up to a fairly good sized fleet."

She nodded, "we committed every available unit that could reach Sullust in time to the battle of course we had no idea that it was a trap. We just assumed that there would be a heavy escort for the Emperor, our intelligence said that most of the Imperial Fleet was dispersed and either hunting us, or involved in policing actions." She seemed almost apologetic as she continued, "our intelligence was not only flawed, it was planted as you know; add to that the arrogance of the Bothans that had obtained the information and we took the bait all in one swallow without checking further. Especially since the _Executor _hounded the task force that had obtained the data for such an extended period of time, we wanted it to be true, to believe that everyone that had died and sacrificed for the data hadn't done so without purpose."

I nodded, fully understanding and even pitying the Rebels, belief could be a powerful driving force for anyone. The Empire could have done with a lot more belief considering the faltering commitment of individuals like myself and Stele at the time.

"The last twenty-four hours or so running up to the battle were the hardest, we all knew that this was going to decide the fate of the galaxy, no one was stupid enough not to realize that. We just had no idea how many of us would live to see it, so we all spent our time with those we cared for and called friends, Stele and the Shrikes be damned…."

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_**, orbiting Endor**

Daru's eyes flickered open at the soft touch on her hand, her fingers entwined with Garin's as she smiled at him.

"Welcome back sir," she murmured.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, raising it up and kissing it affectionately. "Sorry you can't come up and see the mess we've gotten ourselves in."

"Did the Major shoot more of the Shrikes?" She asked half-teasingly.

He chuckled, running a hand over her forehead and down her lekku gently, being careful to avoid the areas that had been bruised. Bacta had worked its miracles, but she was still weak and ached where her bruises had been.

"We weren't so lucky," he reached into his flightsuit and pulled out a small holopad, placing it in her other hand and activating it; images of the fleet they were part of sprang to life and Daru's eyes lit up excitedly.

"There are over thirty major ships here," she said in awe.

He nodded, "yes, and dozens of smaller warships as well. We're one of the latter."

Her face fell worriedly, "Garin, what's happening?"

He explained in brief what he knew about the plan and she shivered, "it's an all or nothing gamble, and I don't see how the Rebellion can survive this."

"You sound concerned about that," Garin said quietly, still holding her hand.

Daru nodded, "after everything that's happened the idea that there won't be an organized resistance to the Empire is terrifying. I don't think that the Empire is intrinsically evil, but I believe that the men currently in power are. The men under Stele's command are evidence enough of that."

Garin nodded quietly, "how are you holding up?"

She smiled, and he was glad to see her old strength in that smile, "I'll be back on my feet soon the medics say," then she shivered and pulled his hand closer, he went one step further and moved closer to the bed, letting her wrap her arms around him. "I was so scared, but I knew that my family would come for me, and you all did. You even killed one of them for me," she let him go, pressing her lips to his gently. "And you've been here everyday since I was attacked, I couldn't ask for anything more except to wish it had never happened."

Garin tried to keep the tears out of his eyes as he brushed a hand along her cheek, leaning his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you Daru."

"We let our guard down Gar, we never thought they'd do anything during duty hours, it wasn't your fault."

He nodded even if he didn't truly believe her; he kissed her forehead affectionately, stroking her lekku gently. Daru closed her eyes and shuddered with a faint smile, "I can't wait to get out of this bed Garin." She whispered.

He opened his mouth to reply but his comlink chimed and he scowled as he leaned back, pulling it off his belt. "This is Durives."

Kindran's voice greeted him, "sir, we've been ordered to prepare for combat, its starting."

Garin nodded, looking at Daru meaningfully, "I copy, orders from the Commander?"

"He wants all pilots to their fighters and launching immediately, we'll be jumping separately."

"Alright, you know the drill Commander," he paused and smiled a little, "Orlis, do me a favor."

"Sir," Kindran asked curiously at the unusual request.

"If Iriana tries to block the path of an escaping ship with the _Knight_ knock her out and assume command."

Kindran actually laughed for a change, Garin realized it was the first time he'd ever heard the typically reserved officer do so, it was a warm and rich laugh that trickled into a hearty chuckle. "I'll do that sir; I've had enough heart attacks for one lifetime."

Garin killed the comlink and turned to Daru who was smiling at him though there was worry etched across her features as he lekku twitched nervously, he'd slowly been learning what the various motions of the brain tails meant and he didn't need to see her expression to know what she was thinking.

"I'm coming back Daru, I'm not going to leave you."

She nodded, though he could tell that she didn't believe him, she reached over the side of her bed and produced a small ovoid disc. She handed it to him and he turned it over curiously, it was cast in chrome and there was an etching of the _Black Knight _at the center and around it were all the fighter craft that had served with the wing thus far.

"My crew made that for me, I want you to have it; it can attach to your belt buckle, wear it for luck."

He stood and clipped it onto the belt on his flightsuit, and then leaned down and kissed Daru passionately, when he began to draw away she grabbed the front of his suit.

"If you don't make it back, I'll come find you Gar." She whispered to him.

He nodded, putting a loving hand beneath her lekku and pulling her close, "I know, I'm not worried about getting lost, I have you to come back to."

Author's Note: "An entire crew and wing defecting to the Rebellion? Absurd!" Ah, but we're forgetting, there are canonized cases of entire capital ships and their crews defecting to the Rebellion, in fact Admiral Harkov, who I mention briefly in this story, was trying to defect if you recall, and he would have taken several capital ships, including at least one Star Destroyer, with him. And let's not forget that two very well known Rebels, Hobbie Klivian and Biggs Darklighter defected not only with an entire warship, but a good portion of its cargo and equipment, even a sizable number of its crew and complement.


	23. Chapter 22

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Do you still wear that buckle?"

I reached down and detached the buckle from my waist and put it on the table between us, Deanna looked at it for a moment before a smile played across her face.

"I envy you, in the middle of all that killing you found someone you cared for and who cared for you in turn."

"Am I right in assuming you lost your lover on Alderaan?"

She tensed, but nodded eventually, "he was on planet visiting family while I was off planet with friends after graduation. We'd promised to see each other as soon as I got back, then the news came that the entire planet and everyone on it had been destroyed by the Rebellion."

"Did you believe it?"

"Not at first, I couldn't see how anything, or anyone for that matter, could destroy an entire planet. Then I went back, and saw the asteroid field that used to be my home, at first I hated the Rebellion, but over time I began to piece together the truth, until just after Hoth I finally had everything I needed to prove who had really been behind it. I joined the Rebellion shortly afterwards."

I nodded, there was nothing I had experienced that could compare with the loss she suffered; I returned the buckle to my belt as she took a moment more in her memories. My throat had gotten dry again, so I took the break to down the water while waiting for her to come back to the present.

When she finally did, there was a renewed energy on her face. "So, what happened then?"

"We made the jump separate of the _Knight_ and caught the Rebel Fleet in the middle of mass confusion as they tried to reorganize after breaking off their initial attack run…."

**Approximately five years earlier, Endor orbit above the Sanctuary Moon**

Garin's defender dropped back into realspace almost instantly, the jump hadn't even been a single light-year. He found himself staring at a surprising sight, a mass of Rebel warships scrambling in all directions to avoid collision with each other and the shield guarding the Death Star. Now they had a third problem, an Imperial fleet in their escape vector.

"Holy space," Toth's said, "that's a lot of ships."

There were murmurs of agreement from other members of Hades, Garin hadn't realized that the Rebellion had enough large warships but there they were, he counted half a dozen of the large Mon Cals, and several smaller model Calamaris as well. Then there were dozens of other warships, corvettes, gunships, and frigates. The Mon Cals were the biggest warships in attendance, though he did spy a few ships which could have been other cruiser types, or carriers, he wasn't sure which.

"All fighters," Admiral Piett commanded over the comms. "Engage at your discretion; wipe this scum from the Emperor's sight."

"You heard him Hades, happy hunting." Stele said stoically, his Avengers pulling away from the rest of Hades and moving in parallel with them towards the oncoming Rebel fighters."

The first wave of Imperial fighters was comprised of the models that had independent hyperdrives which meant that they'd be fighting the Rebel fighters alone before their allies arrived. In that initial firefight, the Imperials would be outnumbered if only for moments.

Garin keyed his comms, "Hades, prepare for fire pattern 271, set for proximity detonation."

He received confirmation en masse from everyone except Shrike squadron, not that he cared about them; they never trained with the rest of the unit so they were more or less on their own and Garin was fine with their exclusion, it was their own fault for feeling that all the training time that the rest of the wing put itself through was a waste. He watched the distance tick down as the Rebel fighters approached and then keyed his comms again.

"271 execute!"

They'd developed this attack pattern in honor of the first tour of duty that the 'five old men' as the unit tended to call Garin and his friends had survived. It was a blanket dumb fire similar to what Station 271 had done repeatedly during the Rusanni Campaign. It was designed to deal with overwhelming numbers and worked very well, because there was no missile lock warning, just a wave of munitions coming at you that detonated once they got within proximity of a target. Given the swarm of fighters coming at them, there was no better tactic. Every ship in Hades opened fire with linked missile tubes and fifty-three missiles rocketed out towards the oncoming fighters. The Rebels reacted as expected, without a missile lock warning they didn't realize what was happening at first, and when they did they broke every which way in an attempt to avoid the barrage of missiles. Very few of the missiles hit anything, but they weren't meant to they were set to detonate within ten meters of anything after the first thirty meters from launch. The attack wasn't designed to kill so much as it was to maim and disorient.

It did so beautifully, and Hades and the rest of the first wave of Imperial fighters moved in against a broken front of Rebel fighters, it gave those pilots smart enough the chance to plow through the Rebels and sow enough confusion for the second wave of Fighters, Interceptors, and Bombers that would be joining shortly. The battle soon dissolved into an all out free-for-all, there were literally thousands of fighters twisting and turning each trying to kill and stay alive. It was all out chaos there was no time to reform with allies or to check your kill score. All you could do was try not to get yourself hulled.

"Does anyone else think this is insane?" Someone called over the unit channel.

Garin had to agree with whoever had called out as he spun out from under the nose of a B-wing and dropped behind it, letting the Rebel fighter have a healthy dose of cannon fire before rolling away as another Rebel fighter moved in behind him. He did a double take as something heavy opened fire on him and he rolled away to see a Corellian YT-1300* rocket past him its gun turrets blazing, he'd never seen one of those move that fast before. The Rebels had apparently brought freighters along as attack platforms; he rolled away from the freighter as a stream of TIEs followed after it, concentrating instead on the fighters. The Rebels weren't being stupid, he had to hand them that, they were drawing the Imperial fighters closer to their capital ships, and they were making mincemeat of dozens of TIEs with their cannons. Part of the problem he'd found was that there were so many friendlies that he could barely get a shot off without risking fratricide, granted if he found a Shrike in his sights he wouldn't so much as blink if he 'accidentally' killed one of them.

The battle had been raging for ten minutes by then, the Imperial capital ships were hanging back, letting their fighters do most of the fighting when a bright green flash caught his attention and nearly made him collide with a friendly.

"Did anyone see what the hell just happened?" He called.

"This is Harth, the station opened fire, I repeat, the battle station has begun firing on the Rebel fleet; it just destroyed a Mouse** with one shot."

Garin swore, what kind of weapon did that station mount that could flatten a Mon Cal in one hit? He answered himself bitterly; it was the same kind of weapon that could flatten a planet. What was he doing here? He flew along the hull of a Rebel carrier, skimming too close to be targeted effectively as he searched for his next target. An A-wing came jetting towards him and he keyed his beam weapon, latching onto the Rebel fighter and using it as a pivot, spinning around in a circle around the captured fighter and firing repeatedly into the helpless fighter, watching it disintegrate under the barrage. He let the tractor go and shot off in another direction just as laserfire peppered his shields threateningly, there was another blast from the battle station and another Rebel Mon Cal went up less than a hundred meters from his position, the shockwave rattled his controls and he fought to regain command of his ship.

"Hades, stay clear of the Rebel warsh—"

He didn't finish, gritting his teeth as the side of the Mon Cal he was flying past erupted and swarms of munitions*** soared out towards him and the dozens of other TIEs around him. He keyed his flare and chaff launchers, pulling away from the barrage, most of the fighters that had been with him weren't so quite and they were blown to pieces. He didn't bother resending his earlier message, there wasn't much point everyone would understand the half issued warning.

"All fighters, the Rebels are attempting to flee through the fleet, move to provide cover and continue to engage."

Piett's voice was a bit of a wake up call and Garin checked his sensors, sure enough, the Rebel fleet was moving towards the superior number of Imperial Warships, the battle station fired a final shot before the Rebel ships drew into range of the Star Destroyers. It was a suicidal move, but it was a better move than staying in the open with where the weapon on the battle station could target them freely. He flew past a broken hulk that had been a Rebel frigate and rolled over to fire at the flight of X-wings beneath him, raking their shields with his cannons before speeding past them. With the Rebel capital ships engaged at point blank with their Imperial counterparts flying between the massive ships was a death wish as they exchanged salvos of coherent energy and munitions barrages. The Rebel charge had forced the Imperial formation to disperse come to avoid collisions with the enemy and each other, which had opened up corridors for fighters to fly in relative safety, accepting of course the other side's fighters.

Garin scored another kill when he noticed that a group of fighters had broken off from the main battle, lead by what looked like the same YT-1300 from earlier. He considered pursuing but there were already about a dozen other TIEs in pursuit and he had other matters to worry about, a Star Destroyer's bridge erupted in front of him as he pulled over the hull. The Rebels were giving a good show of it, he had to hand them that, but they had to know there was no way in space they could hope to outfight the Imperial Fleet arrayed against them. What exactly did they hope to accomplish it wasn't like they could escape with the Immobilizer cruisers on the outskirts of the battle, their gravity wells effectively shut off any chance of escape. The battle was quickly turning into another free for all with pockets of capital ships being isolated from others and beating each other into darkened hulls, all the while the fighters raced in and around the behemoths. Garin had taken down nine fighters already and had no doubt that he'd be moving into the double digits by days end at the rate things were going.

"Oh damn, Gar, the _Executor _is hit!" Toth said, "her shields are down!"

Garin pulled a loop, firing a missile at his pursuer and watching as the X-wing raced off in an attempt to avoid the murderous projectile, he came around just in time to watch the _Executor_'s bridge go up in a short lived burst of flame. Somewhere during the battle, three of the Mon Cal Cruisers and numerous smaller ships had ganged up on the Super and had apparently done enough damage to take down her shields. He watched as the dagger shaped warship began listing, falling steadily towards the surface of the battle station, he kept his engines on full, soaring through the battle as he watched the tip of the Destroyer slam into the battle station's hull. He checked his scanners, the Rebels had taken a pounding, but they'd so managed to take down five Imperial or Imperator Star Destroyers, as well as several smaller warships and now the _Executor_. They were still outnumbered and outgunned, but they'd just gutted the fleet's chain of command, the effects were immediate as various captains and admirals began clamoring orders that no one paid any attention to.

Garin keyed his comms, "Iriana?"

"Here sir, we just saw the _Executor _go up." She sounded shaken, Garin didn't blame her.

"I know, I was right above her, I want you to withdraw the _Knight _to the outskirts of the battle, if the gravity wells go down jump clear and we'll come find you."

"I will not leave you all here to die sir." She said stonily.

"I'm not asking you to, I'm asking you to give us a place to come home to. Follow your orders Captain."

"Yes sir, stay alive, I don't want to explain to Chief Kerrila that you won't be coming back."

Garin resisted the urge to reach down for the buckle that Daru had given him before the battle. "Copy that, good luck Captain."

And then the entire world seemed to turn upside down as a jaw shattering explosion tore through space, Garin's head snapped around to see the battle station erupt in a massive fireball that sent a shock wave out that tore across the fleets fighting around it. The battle seemed to pause as what had just happened began to fully sink in, had the Emperor and Vader both been aboard that thing? And if they had, and were both dead, what was the fleet fighting for now?

"This is Captain Pellaeon of the _Chimaera_, all Imperial ships receiving this message are to retrieve their fighters and retreat, I repeat, all Imperial ships are to withdraw from the combat zone."

This declaration was followed moments later by another command, "belay that order, this is Grand Admiral Teshik, rally to the _Eleemosynary_ we will avenge the Emperor and secure a future for our Empire!"

If Piett's death had caused chaos, this conflict of orders brought absolute anarchy and soon it was every ship for itself as each was faced with the options of fight or flight in the face of a renewed Rebel assault.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"I was there you know," I looked at her idly, "I was aboard the _Defiance_, I was an analyst, I remember watching the _Liberty _being destroyed. The thought that we could all be vaporized in the blink of an eye was horrifying."

She looked at me as I watched her, "what did you do when the orders were given?"

I smiled slowly, "we had to choose, fight for the Empire, or flee for the Empire."

"Given your opinions about the Empire, I would think that you would flee and survive rather than stay and fight."

I nodded, sighing and chuckling, "yes, that would be the natural reaction to that situation. I don't really know what happened, but we decided to stay and fight alongside the Grand Admiral. We didn't know him, we weren't loyal to him, but he was willing to stand his ground and fight to the end even if it meant death. I suppose we just respected that, because without a word from anyone, Hades formed on the _Eleemosynary_ and continued to fight, even when four fifths of the fleet had fled we continued to fight…."

**Approximately five years earlier, Endor orbit above the Sanctuary Moon**

Garin was sweating, his body covered in salt as he panted, they'd been fighting now for over three hours and it looked like the Grand Admiral's last stand was finally coming to a close, the _Eleemosynary _was disabled and what capital ships remained around her were too badly damaged to continue the fight. Hades had done what it could, he wasn't even sure if they'd lost anyone, and if so, how many. He was too exhausted to think about that.

"Hades, this is Commander Stele, all units fall back to the _Black Knight_; we are withdrawing."

Garin cast a last look at the disabled _Eleemosynary _and saluted the Grand Admiral, he'd tried to defend the Empire he served to the very end and that was worth recognition even if it was in vain.

"This is Wyvern Lead, I'm hit, I've lost my engines and thrusters are non-responsive, I'm falling towards the moon, I need help!"

"All ships," Stele said coolly, "ignore any distress calls and return to base."

"Maarek," Vic'que pleaded, "please don't leave me here! I don't want to die!"

"You're an Imperial pilot Lieutenant Sajuuk, act like one, Stele out."

Garin swore, he keyed the private channel, "if anyone tries to follow me, blast them and then get clear."

"Wait, Gar what are you planning?" Toth asked, he sounded as haggard as Garin felt.

"I don't know; just keep the Shrikes off me."

"Roger," Harth responded.

"We've got your back leader," Matrin and Kalan said together.

With that, Garin twisted his control yoke and headed towards the Sanctuary Moon, locking onto Vic'que's Avenger as it fell towards the atmosphere uncontrollably.

Author's Note: I did some basic calculations just to get an idea of the kind of fighter forces we're dealing with here, each Imperator and Imperial class Star Destroyer carries six squadrons. According to the source material I am going off of there were about thirty (no exact count) Star Destroyers of these two classes (I am not counting the other four Star Destroyer classes present at the battle: Victory I/II, Executor, and Tector [note: the Tector does not carry fighters]) present at the battle. If we assume that each of these Destroyers had the usual compliment, we are looking at 2160 odd Imperial fighter craft and that is _only _from those two classes. Counting the twelve squadrons that the _Executor _carried and add to that the various other ship classes, many of which carried at least one or two and in some cases three squadrons (in the case of the Vindicator Cruiser and Escort Carrier six) we're looking at well over 2500 fighters (possibly over 4000 depending on cap count). In comparison, the Rebels had somewhere around 500 fighters (source material says 500+ but the classes of warships deployed by the Rebel fleet could have carried a much larger compliment of upwards of 1000. It is very hard to estimate their strength given that the count on the number and type of Rebel caps at the battle is even harder to determine than the Imperial composition. Plus it is uncertain how much of the fleet had a full complement of fighters given economic and personnel restrictions on the Alliance it is possible that they did indeed only have 500 some fighters). Anyone want to do the odds on that one? Granted, the Rebel fighters were universally more durable than their Imperial counterparts, even the weakest Rebel fighter present, the Z-95 Headhunter could take more hits than a TIE fighter; but even given that Rebel fighters could absorb considerably more damage than their counterparts and were generally more advanced fighting platforms (accepting the odd advanced fighter types like those flown by Hades and other elite units; these made up such a small percentage of the deployed fighter force as to hardly matter), that is still a hell of a gap in numbers to overcome.

*Yes, that is the _Millennium Falcon_

**Mouse: slang for Mon Calamari Cruiser which was coded as MCC or 'Mice', hence 'Mouse,' in the Imperial Fleet Registry.

***Many Mon Cal Cruisers and other Rebel warships had fake blisters that were actually one shot ordnance pods that could be triggered at oncoming fighters, firing dozens of munitions of various types at the unfortunate attackers.


	24. Chapter 23

**Approximately five years earlier, Endor orbit, approaching the atmosphere of the Sanctuary Moon**

"Lieutenant-Commander Durives, you will withdraw now,"

"Negative Commander, I am not leaving Lieutenant Sajuuk out here to burn."

"That is an order Durives, I will not repeat myself."

"Get spaced sir."

Garin killed the link and blocked Stele's line on his comms board as he continued racing towards Vic'que's plummeting Avenger, he shifted all his power to shields and engines.

"Vic'que, can you hear me?"

"I don't want to die," came the whimpered response, Garin scowled.

"Would you calm down, I need you to have a clear head otherwise you will die."

There was no response for a moment, but then her voice came back clearly, "you'll save me sir?"

"If you'll work with me, now tell me the status of your ship."

"My engines are gone so are my thrusters, severe damage to the aft of my ship."

Her voice was quivering but at least she'd calmed down enough to talk coherently Garin thought to himself as he maneuvered behind her damaged fighter, he was impressed it was still in one piece, the entire rear third of the fuselage and part of the solar paneled wings had been blown away.

"Alright, I need you to put everything you've got into shields, copy that? Otherwise you're going to burn up."

"Yes sir," she responded shakily, Garin watched his scanner as her shields integrity climbed to maximum levels.

"Alright goo—"

Laserfire splashed against his aft shields and he rolled and ducked out of the way, though he kept Vic'que in front of him, shielding her from whatever maniac was taking potshots at them.

"The Commander ordered you to withdraw Durives, now withdraw."

"Get off my tail Talen; I don't have time for you."

Another laser blast rocked the Defender and Garin swore, "Talen, this is your last warning."

Talen laughed coldly, "not likely traitor."

Garin sighed, "your master is dead and you're still following his orders, what a waste, Harth?"

"He's mine."

A moment later, Talen's Avenger erupted as combined laserfire and two concussion missiles tore into his fighter.

"You're clear sir," Harth commented stoically.

"Hey leader," Matrin called, "Stele is ordering the Shrikes to intercept, what do you want to do?"

Garin's mouth set in annoyance, why were people so stupid? All he wanted to do was save one life in the midst of all this killing. "Harth I am giving command to you, Hades is yours until I get back, wipe the floor with them."

Harth's voice was viciously cold, "with pleasure, Hades, engage the Shrikes, ignore those that run, kill the rest."

"Oh about time, I've wanted to do this all day!" Kalan said gleefully.

Garin felt a cold pit form in his stomach, he'd just ordered his people to attack another Imperial unit, he shook his head to clear it; there was no time to worry about that now.

"Vic'que are you still there?"

"Garin…I'm scared."

"Good, that means you're still alive, hang on, this is going to jerk you around a bit."

He targeted her ship, locking on and firing his beam weapon, the tractor latched onto her ship and both fighters jerked and lurched violently as his tractor beam tried to arrest Vic'que's descent.

Her voice came over the comms dejectedly, "it's no good sir, you can't pull me clear of a planet's gravity with that thing, just go….I-I'll be alright."

Garin scowled, "Vic'que, if you do not start acting like an officer in Hades I will kill you myself, do you understand?"

"But sir—"

"Shut up, I'm not trying to pull you clear; I'm trying to slow you down."

He saw the entry alerts going off as they entered the atmosphere, the buffeting increasingly violent as his shields became visible from the heat they were dealing with. Then, as quickly as they'd entered it, they were clear of the worst of the atmosphere and in the planet's sky, he pulled his yoke to the side, trying to aim for a portion of the ground that wasn't as heavily forested, of course since the entire surface as far as he could see was forested, this was a relative term.

"Sir, he abandoned me, I never thought he'd do it…he told me so much, about himself, his doubts, his fears; and he left me to die."

Garin gritted his teeth, struggling with the controls, "we can have this discussion once we are on the ground, for now just concentrate on monitoring your shields."

There was a pause, "yes sir."

The first of the massive trees rose up to meet them, and Garin watched Vic'que's shields shredded through the canopy, without engines or lasers to worry about powering, she was able to put all her power into her shields and that saved her from being crushed by the massive trees. Garin's Defender followed in her wake, plowing through whatever trees weren't already disintegrated. A moment later, they hit the ground, both fighters bounced and rolled and Garin thanked Zaarin for having the sense to install crash netting in the Defender, it was an ironic thought that he owed his life to a man he'd help kill. His Defender finally rolled to a stop and he was able to catch his breath, granted he was upside down, but he was not going to be choosy, he was alive. He hit the release on his harness and dropped to the ceiling of his cockpit, kicking the door open, his fighter was wedged between two trees and that enabled him to scramble out, but not before grabbing the survival kit under the crash couch.

He surveyed the wreckage with a wince, it wasn't going to be flying anytime soon that was certain, looking around he found Vic'que's fighter, equally battered about two hundred meters behind his. He crossed the distance, the short trek made easier by the path carved out by the crashing Defender, when he reached the Avenger he banged on the plasteel cockpit with the butt of his carbine. At first Vic'que didn't move, but when he banged again, she shifted, lifting her helmeted head up to look at him. He couldn't tell what expression she wore, whether elated at being alive, or depressed that she'd been abandoned by a man she'd called her lover.

He pried her cockpit hatch off and reached a hand down for her. "Come on Lieutenant; let's get you out of here."

She took the offered hand and he pulled her up out of the cockpit, she'd had enough clarity of mind to grab her own kit at least, that meant he didn't have to go dig it out himself.

They sat on her fighter's hull for a moment before she spoke, "thank you sir…I'm sorry I panicked."

Garin didn't respond he'd taken his helmet off and was staring blankly at their surroundings, everything seemed so blurry, slowly, his eyes closed and he felt himself falling, the last thing he remembered hearing was Vic'que shouting his name.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringji Shipyards**

"That was Hades?" Deanna asked in surprise.

"What was us?" I responded with a raised brow.

"Immediately following the disabling of the _Eleemosynary _there were readings on a small skirmish between what appeared to be two groups of Imperial fighters, Intelligence never could figure out what it was."

I chuckled, "that would have been Stele being a stubborn fool and getting his men shot to pieces."

"Yes, we did notice that the fight seemed one sided once the two sides actually squared off."

"The Shrikes never trained as vigorously as the rest of Hades, and as much as our pilots griped and groaned, all the training paid off and we all knew it. We were just flat out better than the Shrikes with a few exceptions and I'm happy to say that was proven that day."

She nodded, "it was a brave thing you did, going down after Lieutenant Sajuuk, can I ask, why did you try so hard to save her?"

"That has to be," I said eyeing her pointedly, "one of the dumbest questions you have asked me this entire time."

She scowled at me, as if I'd severely insulted her intelligence or something, "you were willing to risk Stele shooting you down over one of your pilots, and it was one that you didn't even particularly get along with."

I stared at her in silence for a long while, feeling the seconds tick by as we looked across the table at one another, finally I sighed and shook my head. "Don't ever take a command position."

She bristled, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"With that attitude, anyone who serves under you will never feel like they mean anything to you; and without that respect you'll never garner their loyalty."

She glowered at me for a moment more, it didn't really matter to me, and it was honest advice. You could be as stringent and disciplined as you pleased, but if you didn't give your people the sense that you would die for them, there was very little you could accomplish.

"What exactly happened to you after you got her out of her fighter?" She finally said.

I smiled and shrugged, "combat fatigue, I'd been fighting for over three hours in a sealed flightsuit, and had just crash landed two fighters simultaneously after going through what was basically an uncontrolled atmospheric entry. Adrenaline had kept me from realizing how tired I was until I finally stopped moving. When I did that, my body caught up with me…."

**Approximately five years earlier, Endor, the Sanctuary Moon**

Garin woke to a chorus of chirps and calls that echoed through the trees, it was almost pitch black, nighttime he realized. He did a quick jog through his memory; he'd been out for at least five hours. His flightsuit had been dismantled; his life support gear removed leaving him far more freedom of movement. Propping himself up he looked around, he was sheltered under the hull of the Avenger, besides its bulbous cockpit, Vic'que sat with her knees tucked under her chin by the small heater that doubled as a light source. The heater gave off a soft warm glow, casting their surroundings in a strange orange twilight, beyond the circle of light cast by the equipment everything was dark. He lifted himself to his feet, careful not to bang his head on the hull above him and walked bent at the waist over to Vic'que.

"Welcome back sir," she said miserably, "I thought you might die and leave me alone here."

He snorted, considering what they'd both just survived he imagined that it would take more than a crash landing to kill either of them at this point.

"Have there been any communications?"

She shook her head, "I was monitoring the comms earlier, but there's nothing but Alliance chatter, mopping up stragglers, salvaging what they can from the wrecks," she shrugged, "burying the dead."

Garin sat down besides her, reaching over and picking up an MRE* tearing the wrapper off and biting into the tasteless bar of nutrients. It tasted quite literally like nothing—which was disturbing in its own right—but he wouldn't need to eat again for the next twenty hours or so, longer if he remained inactive, and that was the part he cared about, he was hungry.

Vic'que was watching him with a half-hearted scowl, "how can you eat at a time like this?"

He looked at her and shrugged, "do you want to starve to death?" He responded, offering her part of the bar, she took it and nibbled on it half-heartedly.

Garin leaned back against the solar paneling on the wing, looking out at the forest beyond the light of the heater. It really was quite beautiful if you discounted that they were stranded here and that there were probably some respectably sized carnivores living in the forest somewhere. His eyes tracked scatterings of movement in the trees as the minutes wore on, nothing came near their position, but there was plenty of movement beyond the safety of the light. Whatever was out there, dangerous or not, didn't want to approach the glow and that was fine by him; he reached over and pulled one of the carbines besides him, flipping the safety off just in case.

"What do you think will happen first, the animals kill us, or the environment?"

Garin blinked and chuckled as he responded to the question, "or we could kill each other."

"How are you still joking about this?"

Vic'que turned to face him, her long gold blonde hair flowing over her shoulders as her piercing green eyes glowered at him.

"Vic'que, if you were this weak willed all along, why on earth did you ever accept Thrawn's patronage in the first place?"

The remark had the desired effect and she seemed almost to shrivel away from him, "because I didn't have any other options except to breed the next generation, my two older sisters were the ones that the family fortune and business would go to, so I joined the Fleet to escape, Thrawn noticed my scores and took an interest in my advancement."

Garin snorted, "yet another pawn."

"What do you mean?" She asked, her tone threatening. "I am no ones pawn."

"You, me, Hades; Thrawn is building something here, something he intends to use. We've all been his tools from the moment he conceived of this unit, some of us, like you and Daru, have been under his eye longer I imagine; but we've all ended up in the same place."

"Don't compare me with her, I concede that she's a brilliant mechanic, but I do not want to be placed in the same light as a tail head."

"That's probably one of the kindest things you've ever said of her." Garin said mildly, "your xenophobia doesn't suite you I hope you realize."

She looked at him like he was stupid, "how do you reason that argument?"

"Simple, you're a woman in a male dominated navy where women are looked down upon as inferior; you despise that so you work harder than anyone around you to prove them wrong. Daru is the same."

"No, I'm human, she isn't." Vic'que said pointedly.

"Does it really matter what form the persecution takes? She's persecuted because she isn't human; you're persecuted because you aren't male. There's little difference in the end result."

She was silent then, Garin didn't feel smug about pointing out the flaw in her logic, it was just a simple fact. He turned his attention back to the forest and its sounds. He listened as animals called to each other and the night, the snap of a branch, the rustling of a bush, and the whistle of the wind drifting between the gargantuan trees. He couldn't think of being anywhere that ever felt so alive.

"Do you think we could have won?"

He looked back to Vic'que, she was staring up at the hull of the fighter, but she wasn't looking at it, she was looking beyond it, up beyond the atmosphere to where no doubt the Rebel Fleet still orbited in the wreckage of the battle.

"At which point," he asked, following her gaze.

"After Vader and the Emperor died," she sounded like she couldn't believe her own words; it was a hard pill to swallow. No one could have imagined that the battle would end as it had. He still wasn't sure how it had happened.

"If the fleet had rallied instead of run, yes, we could have won." He said finally.

She winced, "that makes me feel even worse, knowing that we lost because of cowardice."

Garin considered all the outcomes of the battle, to him, the Empire's victory would have been a double edged sword, more so if the Emperor or Vader had survived, because that would have meant that the Shrikes would have had more than stupidity backing up their aggression.

"All I know right now is that if I ever meet Pellaeon I'm going to have a hard time not spitting on his boots."

Vic'que actually smiled, an improvement over her consistently dour expression until now; "you're too soft sir."

He shrugged, "if you'd rather punch him, be my guest."

*MRE: Meal-Ready-to-Eat


	25. Chapter 24

**Approximately five years ago, Endor, the Sanctuary Moon**

"Anything?"

Garin looked up; Vic'que was hanging over the edge of the Avenger's cockpit hatch staring down at him.

He shook his head, killing the comms board with a sigh; "nothing but Rebel chatter, what we assumed is more or less confirmed. The Rebels have control of the moon and the surrounding space. There have been a few skirmishes, apparently there were late arrivals from other elements of the fleet but they've quickly disengaged. The moon itself sounds like it's completely under their control, any Imperial forces are dead or captured."

"Or stranded," she said gloomily her expression dark.

After a moment he nodded, "or stranded."

She withdrew, and he reached up, grabbing the lip of the cockpit hatch as he pulled himself out. Both had doffed their flightsuits and were just wearing their tank tops and pants now. They'd been planetside for a little over thirty hours by Garin's count. The pair sat for a time saying nothing, and then Vic'que turned to him thoughtfully.

"Sir, if we are stranded here for the rest of our natural lives, what would you do?"

"I'd like to think that isn't going to happen," he responded.

"But there's little chance that we'll be rescued and I don't think either of us wants to be captured by the Rebels."

Garin snorted, no he didn't particular want to be in Rebel custody at this point, before Vader's command, perhaps; but after the attacks Hades had conducted these last few months against what amounted to unarmed civilians he was less inclined to count on Rebel niceties if they realized who they had in their custody. No, he preferred to take his chances and trust that Hades would come up with something; if nothing else he imagined that once the Rebellion finally bugged out Hades would return and try and find the wrecked fighters, which would be that hard provided one or two of the others had bothered to track their reentry and descent trajectory.

Vic'que interrupted his thoughts, "I still can't believe that he abandoned me like that…."

"You're still dwelling on that?" he asked with a frown.

She glared at him, "for the first time in my life I thought I'd found a male that I could have a relationship with on an equal level; someone who would care about me."

"You do realize that you already had that if you'd have stopped to consider Hades as more than a chance to advance yourself."

She paused then, her expression softening slightly even as she continued to scowl, "how could I when you were always picking on me?"

"Picking on you? Now that sounds mature," he said, rotating and swinging his legs up and under himself. "You were out of control Vic'que, you spent as much time trying to find flaws in my command as following that command."

"And I was right frequently," she asserted, Garin shrugged, he wasn't denying that she'd had her points.

"You wanted to have Daru shot because she had the gall to hit you when you deserved it; and don't give me that look." He said, cutting her off as she opened her mouth, "you were out of line and you know it, regardless of your xenophobia."

"You consider Hades to be a family don't you;" she said quietly, stating it rather than asking. He nodded quietly; watching her reactions carefully, "even me?"

"You sound like a lost child looking for her home."

She winced at his words, "don't make light of it."

He shook his head, "you'll always have a place in Hades Vic'que, you're the problem member perhaps but you're still part of the unit. Not many people can make Harth sweat in a sim after all, even I have trouble catching him one on one."

"Do you know what I saw in Maarek?"

He didn't respond, still watching her features, trying to read what she was feeling and thinking before she told him.

"It was everything you weren't, that fervor for his cause, his ability to obey orders unquestioningly, to know his place within the world. You've always explored those boundaries that ring your proper place, and have forcibly expanded them. It's not something I admire about you."

"You do realize he harbored the same doubts that most of Hades has been nursing for months now."

"I learned that yes, but that just made him…more accessible I suppose. When I first started seeing him because of that Diamond Blue project that the Chief came up with; he was surprised, as if he expected that I would be like the rest of Hades. When he found that I was interested in him he became suspicious because he thought I was trying to place myself in a position to replace you."

Garin could see that, "were you?"

"In a way, I suppose. I thought that Vader would replace you soon and when that happened I didn't want to be dragged down with you and the others loyal to you."

He snorted and continued to eye her, "you're loyalty to the unit is astounding."

Her expression shifted, "so I guess, if you're right about Thrawn using Hades, I suppose he's achieved his goal since none of you…of us, seem loyal to the Empire."

"Don't get it wrong, we aren't trying to overthrow the Empire, we just recognize that there is a problem with the system we serve and those that rule it."

She considered this, "if Thrawn were to ask you to fight the Empire, would you do it?"

"Yes," Garin was surprised at how automatic his response was; but it was true, if Thrawn asked him to fight, he'd do it.

After a moment, she leaned towards him, and his alarms went off as her words confirmed what he'd already guessed.

"You know, all I ever wanted was to be recognized for what I am, not what others thought me to be. I think that's why I've challenged you so much, I wanted your acknowledgement in a way."

Garin sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her back. Was he running a child psychology session suddenly?

"Don't go there Vic'que."

She frowned, "we're stranded on this planet, possibly forever and you're turning down the one woman here when I'm expressing an interest instead of trying to fight with you?"

"Yes," he said gravely, "that is exactly what I am doing. I will not take part in your desperation; I believe that Hades will come for us."

"There's someone else isn't there." She said, her eyes narrowing.

"Isn't there always?"

"It isn't the Captain, nor the Major, both of them are spoken for, one of the other female crewmembers, or one of the commando team perhaps?"

"You seriously expect me to tell you?"

She scowled and turned away from him, glowering at nothing in particular, "I've been baring myself to you haven't I?"

"Yes, but you have an ulterior motive it seems, I don't. I simply don't want to compromise her by burdening her with any backlash."

"I'm no—" she frowned, "what is that?"

Garin heard it too, a low rumble, they both began looking around them, un-holstering their carbines reflexively.

"That isn't your stomach is it?" Garin asked as he scanned the trees and bushes for movement.

"Don't be stupid sir, I ate, are you sure it isn't yours?" She said acidly.

He paused to listen for the rumbling, and then looked down, it was below them. He swung over the hull of the Avenger and looked around their gear, what could be rumbling in their gear? Comlinks didn't make any sounds like this so it had to be something else; he began looking over their things, a moment later Vic'que dropped down behind him, keeping her attention on their surroundings as he searched. He had to smile, whether she liked it or not, she really did work in synch with the unit even if it was just out of habit. He stopped on their flightsuits; they were vibrating with each rumble, what was going on here?

He reached down and picked up Vic'que's suit, nothing; he lifted up his and felt the vibration that he'd already observed, and it was coming from the belt ornament that Daru had given him, a smile played across his features. If he ever needed to wonder why he loved her, here was a good example.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

I paused, considering what I wanted to tell her here, if I told her about the belt it could make things difficult.

Deanna looked up, "something the matter Commander?"

I shook my head, no; there was no need to mention this part, time to get creative, "nothing, just reminiscing."

"So you heard the rumbling, what was it, an animal?"

"We never found out, it stopped after we started looking for the source in earnest."

She considered me for a long moment and I wondered if she suspected that I'd just started blowing out of my tailpipes.

"So what happened next?"

"We went back to monitoring the com channels hoping we might find something that could save us."

"Obviously you found something, what happened exactly?"

"Past actions paid off," I said with a cryptic smile.

**Approximately five years ago, Endor, the Sanctuary Moon**

"Is that one of ours?" Vic'que asked as she watched the transport circling.

"Did you ever see a YT-2000 on an Imperial hangar?"

"So it's Rebel," her carbine raised up as the transport made another pass.

"Or scavengers," Garin said calmly.

He fingered the belt buckle turned transceiver, hoping that Daru hadn't just gotten him killed. The transport made one more pass before stopping between the two crashed fighters. It powered down, Garin scanned the hull for weapons, there were two cannons mounted by the cockpit, and two quad-laser turret cannons, one dorsal, one ventral. No one seemed to be manning the weapons though, which was a plus. Then the ramp lowered and a man dressed in civilian clothes stepped down it and took a look around, instinctively Garin and Vic'que crouched down as his eyes swept the surroundings, before he cupped his hands to his mouth.

"Hades Lead, this is Red Seven, Ace Azzameen. Can I give you a lift?"

Garin and Vic'que looked at each other, Red Seven _and _Azzameen; the same one from the TIE experimental mess and the _Liberty_? The Rebels had a tendency to use their color coded callsigns rather universally, it was like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta so on and so forth in the Imperial Navy. Garin shrugged, what were the odds, and could he afford not to test them?

"Hades Lead, your people gave us the tracking frequency, I know you're here. I'm unarmed I promise, we're here for an exchange!"

"They made a deal?" Vic'que said, her tone saying what she thought of that.

"If he reaches for anything aside from me, shoot him."

She nodded, drawing a bead on the lone pilot, Garin scuttled off several meters, careful not to disturb the surrounding foliage as he moved. When he was well away from Vic'que's position he finally stood up, carbine holstered and stepped into view of the Rebel.

"Care to explain what you're doing here Azzameen?"

Azzameen's eyes tracked over, Garin had the satisfaction seeing him jump slightly, "you've been crouching in the bushes the whole time Hades?"

"When unmarked transports start circling my crash site I get a little suspicious."

He nodded, "yeah I know the feeling, I've had my share of backstabs and traps; for what its worth, this is completely legitimate." He scanned the surroundings again, eyeing the Avenger particularly, "aren't there two of you?"

"She died," Garin said tightly, hoping he sounded convincing.

Azzameen's face fell and he actually looked apologetic, "I'm sorry, I wish I could have come sooner."

"So what is this deal?"

He pointed to the Avenger, and then thumbed over his shoulder towards the Defender, "the salvage guys up top come down and get your toys, and I take you to your people."

"They're both wrecks you realize," Garin was less skeptical now. Hades had bargained two advanced TIE models for their rescue, it sounded like something he'd do. This was interesting in the extreme.

"Yeah, but we've never gotten to look at either design up close before, so even two wrecks are worth a lot to our people."

"Fair enough," he finally approached Azzameen, walking to the transport. "I'm your passenger it would seem."

"Alright, just hold on a moment, I need to plant this."

He held up a homing beacon, walking a short distance away before placing it and activating it. In the time it took him to set it up, Garin turned and signaled to Vic'que, who stood and joined him by the ramp quickly. When Azzameen turned to find that he had two passengers it was his turn to look suspicious.

"Any other surprises I should know about?"

"She's not going to shoot you?" Garin supplied with a smile.

"I'm not too sure about that, you could have told me you know Hades."

"Would you have given away your trump card in my situation?"

He considered for a moment before nodding with a sigh, "well get aboard, I've got rendezvous coordinates to dump you off at."

He turned and walked up the ramp, Garin and Vic'que followed him a moment later. A brown droid was waiting at the top of the ramp, its photoreceptor glowing attentively as it eyed the two Imperials following Azzameen.

"When I agreed to fight for the Rebellion," the droid said in an obnoxious voice, "I never thought I would be flying Imperial pilots around."

"Be quiet Emkay, we made a deal, this is part of it. Think of it as a business arrangement, you remember what those are right?"

"I know what a business deal is, and this isn't one." The droid said haughtily, turning and trundling away and its treads.

"Ignore him, he thinks he's a true Rebel," Azzameen said apologetically, "and has the dislike of Imperials to prove it."

"First time I've heard of a droid choosing sides," Vic'que said skeptically.

"Well it takes all kinds," Azzameen said; he waved around the cabin. "Find a place to sit; I'll get us spaceside shortly."

Vic'que immediately went to the couch in one corner arranged around a holotable, strapping herself in before lying down and falling asleep almost instantly.

"She looks exhausted," Azzameen said as he looked at Vic'que as the latter lay breathing quietly.

"She's had a rough time, and I don't just mean the crash." Garin said, "don't get any ideas Azzameen, she is one of my pilots."

"Don't worry Hades, I won't do anything funny." He frowned for a moment and turned to Garin. "You know we can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Calling each other by last names and command designations, I think we'll both agree that the war from our perspective is over."

Garin considered the statement for a moment before holding out his hand, "Garin Durives, Lieutenant-Commander, Hades Wing off the _Black Knight._"

Azzameen gave an easy and warm smile as he took the offered hand, shaking it strongly; "Ace Azzameen, Captain, Viper Squadron off the _Independence_."

"I didn't realize that was your real name, parents weren't very modest were they? What happened to the _Liberty_?"

Ace's smile vanished; he withdrew his hand with a pained expression. "She was the first to go up when the Death Star started firing."

Garin drew in a deep breath as he and Ace eyed each other for a moment before he spoke again, "I'm sorry, that's not worth much, but I am sorry. That monster should never have been put onto a drawing board."

The smile returned, though not as strongly as before; "no, it's actually worth something hearing it from you," he seemed to consider for a moment, "Garin." He said it carefully, as if he was testing the sound. "I wasn't sure what to think when I heard that you were here; I thought the one decent Imperial I'd met was actually just as bloodthirsty as the rest."

"You have no idea; we're an entire unit of quasi mutineers and deserters."

"Sounds like a fun job keeping that together, Emkay are we ready to get going?"

The droid's voice came from the cockpit, "we've been ready but the two of you thought it was time to make friends."

Ace and Garin exchanged glances; the latter patted his holstered carbine, "I'm not a bad shot you know."


	26. Chapter 25

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Wait, how did Azzameen even find you?"

"Hades gave him our comms frequency and since we had Lieutenant Sajuuk's Avenger on active scan he followed the trail." I lied easily without as much as a skip in my heart beat I was proud to say.

"I can't believe I never heard about this," she said, her skepticism was all but palpable.

"At the time I didn't know who he was, but Azzameen had an important acquaintance, Luke Skywalker, like I said I had no idea who he was then." I said this with a smile, later on of course I had learned very quickly who Skywalker was. "When Hades contacted the Rebel Fleet, requested Azzameen by name, and explained the situation he knew there was nothing he could do without help so he went to Skywalker and got a direct line to Alliance Command. Next thing you know there's a quiet operation to get two advanced fighters into Rebel hands in exchange for extraction of two Imperial pilots; and since Azzameen had his own transport there was no need to directly involve any other Alliance personnel."

"So he took you back to your unit then?"

I nodded, recalling the conversation that Ace and I had shared just before parting….

**Approximately five years earlier, aboard the transport **_**Otana**_**, deep space near the Endor System**

"Hey Garin, what are you going to do after this?"

Garin looked down at Ace, sitting in front of him in the pilot's seat; the pair had ousted Emkay out of the cockpit to allow Garin to take the co-pilot's position for the trip. Emkay had done so under protest.

"Meaning?"

"Are you going back to the Empire?" Ace said flatly.

Garin didn't even have to consider, "no, provided that my people cleaned out all our potential informers, we're going to direct our own actions from now on."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that we're withdrawing from whatever remains of this war, Hades was recently ordered to do a lot of things that none of us are proud of. I think for now, its time to clean up our name and fight for the cause we thought we were fighting for all along."

"You aren't talking about joining the Alliance are you," Ace said, he sounded disappointed.

"No, I personally, and I think my people will feel the same, am tired of fighting a war for a cause we don't support. I have no idea if your Alliance is any better than the Empire, or just the lesser of two evils. What I'm talking about is dealing with the trash that will be cropping up while the Empire is reeling from this."

"You're going to fight local warlords and pirates now? Hardly worth your time if your unit is half as good as I think it is."

"Well that just means this will be much needed vacation time for us." Garin responded with a smile.

"Well good luck, just steer clear of the Alliance, Luke really had to press Command to let this deal through. If it were anyone else asking I'm sure they'd have just scooped you up and thrown you and your friend in a cell."

The _Otana, _Ace's transport, dropped from hyperspace, he did a quick scan of the area. "Those must be your people, not the friendliest welcoming committee I've ever had."

Garin was looking at the sensory readouts and smiling, yes, a shuttle being escorted by five blastboats was rarely a welcoming sight, unless you knew the people piloting those ships personally.

"Transport _Otana,_ this is shuttle _Corvinthus_, do you have the package aboard?"

Ace looked up at Garin with a shrug that said: "they're your people, you talk to them."

Garin keyed the com, "_Corvinthus_, this is Lieutenant-Commander Durives aboard the _Otana, _permission to dock?"

He could hear the smile in the pilot's voice as he responded, "yes sir, docking request granted, _Otana _cleared to our docking collar."

When the two ships had linked together, and Garin had woken Vic'que, who went through the collar after Ace had courteously seen her off, the Rebel pilot turned to his Imperial counterpart.

"Listen Garin, we might be on opposite sides, though it sounds like that's not going to be the case from now on, but I want you to know that I don't see you as my enemy. I'd like to think that we could actually be thought of as friends even; considering that we seem to keep bumping into each other."

"That's good to hear," Garin said with a wry smile, "it's nice to know that I've got friends who will shoot at me from the other side of the line."

Ace snorted and shrugged, handing Garin a datapad. "My family runs a company, Twin Suns Transport Services; we operate a few repair yards and supply facilities in addition to our transport operations. If your unit needs anything just send us a com, my siblings and I will make sure you're taken care of."

Garin looked at the datapad for a moment before holding it out to Ace again, "you do realize you're offering to supply and arm a unit that may eventually rejoin the Empire."

Ace shrugged, holding his hands out to either side, quietly refusing to take the datapad. "I'm offering to help a friend," he said simply, "besides; if you rejoin the Empire I doubt you'd have need of our facilities anyways. Just keep the datapad, its not bugged."

"We should have it bugged though," Emkay muttered loudly behind Ace, "the Alliance would be very happy to be able to keep tabs on your unit I'm sure."

They both looked at the droid who trundled off without another word, Ace turned back to Garin. "You don't have to take me up on the offer, but its there anyways."

After another long moment, Garin tucked the datapad into his pocket, nodding his thanks as he turned and crossed the docking collar, Major Yvonne was waiting for him, in full armor, weapon drawn and wearing a scowl.

"I was getting ready to come over and start shooting sir;" she said tersely.

Garin snorted, "it's nice to see you too Sissir."

"So Azzameen turned out to be a reliable man after all," she said absently as they took their seats, the airlock sealing behind them. "I wasn't certain that Toth had his screws in straight when he came up with the idea, considering that we didn't even know if Azzameen was alive _and_ with the Rebel fleet."

Garin fingered the pocketed datapad with a smile, "I think we've made a valuable ally thanks to his gamble," he looked over at the Major as she eyed him. "I'll have to thank Toth when we get back for giving us the opportunity."

The shuttle touched down on the hangar deck, around it the five Skiprays landed as well. The ramp lowered and the Major lead Garin and Vic'que to the deck where a crowd was waiting with a cheer. Garin immediately spied Daru, dressed as she had been that first night she'd come to him; seeing her on her feet despite the obvious bruises and the ginger manner in which she applied her weight sent a wave of warmth through his body. He walked up to her, took her in his arms and kissed her deeply; there was a pause in the cheering as if no one was sure what to make of this sudden display. The pause didn't last long as the cheering started anew; Garin broke the kiss, and spied Vic'que, looking surprised and dejected as she stood back by the ramp looking at Garin with Daru wrapped in his arms.

He was at a loss for what should be done about her really, then Kalan and Matrin handled the moment each jumping on either side of her and dumping what looked like some kind of champagne over her head. Garin just closed his eyes, unsure whether to wince or smile, but when he opened them again Vic'que had returned the favor to both of her fellow pilots and had accepted both a towel and glass from them. For a change she was smiling, Garin would have to trust that was what had needed to be done and that Vic'que would sort things out for herself.

"You know, I wasn't sure we'd be seeing you again." Toth said with a smirk as he patted Garin on the shoulder.

"What, you don't have faith in my ability to survive?"

"No," Harth said quietly with a faint smile, the big man nodded over towards Vic'que. "He was worried she might kill you."

Toth shrugged apologetically, "hey, you two don't exactly see eye to eye."

"I think we'll be fine," Garin assured him, Daru leaned up and kissed him softly on the neck as she leaned against him amidst the chaos of welcomes and back slaps. He stroked her lekku gently letting his mind escape for a moment in the rhythm of her breathing.

"So what next sir," Harth asked quietly.

Garin looked up and shrugged, "we replace our losses, reequip, rearm, and resupply. Then we go show the galaxy that not every Imperial is a cold hearted, power mad lunatic."

Toth, who had his arm around Sissir now nodded his approval, handing Garin a glass of whatever it was that had been making the rounds. "Now that is an order I can enjoy, when do we start?"

"You know, I never expected that you meant it literally when you said you'd come find me." Garin said, looking at Daru as she lay atop him in his bed.

She smiled, tracing her fingers over his chest, "I meant every word, remember what I'd said about Stelle and the Shrikes taking away my home here? I wasn't going to lose you as well."

She snuggled up against him and he adjusted the blanket wrapped around them to giver her more freedom of movement; he ran a finger along the side of her body, tracing her form fondly. She shivered and smiled, kissing him lightly as they caressed.

"Garin, what are we really going to do now? We don't have to fight for the Empire anymore you realize."

"We aren't, we're going to make sure that those who take advantage of the vacuum that's going to form with the Empire's disarray don't get out of hand."

She frowned and propped her herself up to look at him, "but why do we need to be the ones that do it? Haven't we all been through enough?"

He considered her for a moment, stroking her cheek gently; she took his hand and held it dearly. "Haven't we all suffered enough for the sake of others?" She asked again.

"This isn't about others Daru, this is about us, all of us, Hades, the _Knight _everyone in this unit. It's about what we can do, what we have the ability to do, to make a difference."

She nodded, though she didn't look convinced, he tried to draw her close but she kept herself away as she looked at him, "I want you Garin that is all I need. I don't care about anyone or anything else. Not the Empire, not Thrawn, not the Galaxy; you're all that's important to me…isn't that all you want too? Just me, aren't I enough?"

He nodded, unsure how he should tread here. They stayed there for a time being, staring at each other searchingly before he finally spoke again.

"This is what I am Daru, I am the commander of this unit, and we have the ability to make people feel secure in a galaxy that will be in desperate need of that security." He put a hand beneath her lekku, behind her head, stroking gently. "Don't make me choose between my duty and my love, I can't make that choice. I want you here with me, I need your help in this and I can't do it alone."

She considered him for a long moment, before pushing off of him and sitting up, "so this is more important to you than us?"

"It is equally important, yes" he replied, hating himself as he said it.

She opened her mouth again, tears in her eyes, Garin took the vulnerability and wrapped his arms around her, pushing her back into the bed and kissing her. She struggled, pushing up against him but he didn't withdraw. He was gentle, careful not to hurt her, just keep her from escaping. When he finally broke the kiss, he looked down at her tear streaked face.

"I love you Daru, I don't want to lose you. So please, come with me, help me."

Her lip quivered as she traced the lines of his face, she nodded quietly drawing him down to her again he brushed away her tears as she whispered to him.

"I love you Garin, I just wish I knew that you loved me as well."

He lifted her up in his arms, holding her tightly, "you should already know that I do. You're such an important part of my life Daru; I would be shattered if you left my side."

She nodded, looking into his eyes quietly as she spoke again, "I'll come with you, and you can show me your ideals, and prove that you do love me."

Daru leaned back into the bed and drew him down to her, and for the time being they forgot their misgivings and simply fell in love all over again.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Relationship issues Commander? That doesn't sound like you."

I nodded with a faint smile, she could jest about it all she liked, truth be told the idea that I could have lost Daru was the most terrifying moment of my life, more than the fact that I might be killed on any mission. That Daru would feel that I didn't care for her, and leave me because of that…I didn't think that I would have had the will to continue on the mission I had decided to embark on then.

"Azzameen could get into a great deal of trouble for that gesture." Deanna said severely.

"Are you really going to harass him for something he did three years ago?" I asked with a rather mocking expression, glad to have the distraction "it isn't like he gave me anything that would compromise the Alliance or the Republic. He just offered Hades access to his family's facilities."

"You were an Imperial unit, his allowing that amounts to a violation of his oath of service."

I had to restrain myself from laughing, the fact that a Republic officer was saying that an independently owned corporation offering to help a rogue military unit that was engaged in pirate hunting seemed the height of hypocrisy to me; but who was I to judge?

"So," she began again after a moment longer, "what did Hades decide to do?"

"Hades took a hit at Endor, of our units, Shadow had lost two, Wyvern three, Gorgon five, Diamond two; the only fighter unit we had that took no losses was Mantis. In a bit of irony, three of Gorgon's loses and one of Wyvern's came from engaging the Shrikes rather than the Alliance. We'd also lost our entire trooper contingent on Endor's Moon. We needed to resupply and rearm in a big way considering the scale of the battle we'd just gone through," I leaned back, feeling tired as I stretched my arms up above my head languidly, "so we jumped to the nearest Imperial base and took what supplies we needed and submitted a priority request for replacements of our lost equipment, we didn't bother requesting more personnel from Fleet Command, instead we looked over the base roster and found people in the fighter garrison that showed promise. We didn't replace our trooper compliment since this was an Army base and not a Navy base."

"Wait, you just _took _Imperial personnel from an active base? Didn't the commander protest?"

"Of course he protested, but there was little he could do, we had the command codes that allowed us access to whatever we needed. We had those codes until Thrawn returned and the codes were finally changed."

She looked at me in surprise, "the codes weren't changed in five years? How is that possible?"

"Because our unit didn't exist; after Thrawn made Grand Admiral," which had been longer than she would probably ever know. "He created an entire set of codes specifically for Hades that gave us whatever we needed so long as we could gain access to an Imperial base; no one else had access to those codes. Not even Imperial Intelligence knew about them or us for that matter."

**Approximately five years earlier, deep space, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight,**_** Outer Rim Territories**

"Do we have everything we need?" Garin asked as he scanned the screen of Daru's datapad.

She nodded, scanning the list, "the hardest things to get our hands on were the Avengers and Defenders and their parts, plus the Missile Boat components were no mean feat. The Advanced and Star Wing Gunboats weren't nearly as difficult. Everything else we needed the base supplied, give me two weeks and I'll convert the Advanced frames into TIE/DBs and Harth can stop fretting over being under strength."

Garin nodded, reaching down and squeezing her hand, she tensed for a moment before gripping the hand in turn.

"You don't have to try so hard Gar."

"Yes I do, the first thing I did when I got back was make you doubt that we had something between us, I'm making up for it."

She smiled, leaning back against them as she looked over the hangar as the supplies were taken aboard and stowed, "if this is that important to you, then I'll support you Garin. I'm sorry if I made you think I wouldn't stay by your side."

He chuckled, kissing her neck affectionately, "don't think that will make me stop trying so hard, you wanted proof and I'll give it to you."


	27. Chapter 26

**Approximately four* years earlier, Mid Rim Territories**

Garin rolled his Defender and fired into the aft of his target as the pirate tried to evade the faster, more maneuverable fighter. Garin's shots were rewarded with a spectacular explosion as the T-wing crumpled under the barrage. He did a quick scan of the area, smiling in satisfaction to see the wreckage of the pirate corvette floating uselessly in space, the fighters and shuttles were either dead or running.

"This is Hades Lead to _Urghan Trade_, you're clear Captain."

"Thank you Commander, it's nice to see an Imperial helping for a change, you have my gratitude."

Garin had gotten used to that surprised response in the last year, it was a bit painful though to see how many people were suspicious of an Imperial fighter unit showing up to assist them instead of attack or board them. In the year since Endor, Hades had been doing everything from attacking local warlords, to assisting locals with criminal elements like slavers or Hutts, to support flights for convoys just like this one. The pay, as everyone joked, was terrible, but the reward was worth it.

"This is Captain Chapela to Shadow One."

"Durives here, what is it Iriana?"

"You need to see this sir, something big is happening at IC**."

"Shadow returning now, Wyvern, escort the convoy until they are ready to jump. Gorgon move to the next waypoint; command priority of the area to Wyvern One."

"I copy Gar, moving to next waypoint, will signal when in position." Toth responded, the Star Wings leaping to hyperspace a moment later.

"This is Wyvern One, permission to engage remaining bandits." Vic'que asked quietly, the edge in her voice obvious.

"Permission granted Wyvern, happy hunting."

Once he was sure that everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing he jumped out of the area and back to the _Knight. _

"I, Delak Krennel, declare myself Prince-Admiral of the Ciutric Hegemony from this day forth."

The holonews switched to Coruscant, where another report was being issued on the unfortunate death of Sate Pestage and the Imperial Ruling Council. With the IRC gone, Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard was taking over the reins of the Empire and would be acting on behalf of the greater good of all member systems. There was a brief speech given by Isard, expression her sorrow over the death of her predecessors and a vow that those responsible would be brought to justice; Garin switched the holofeed off then and turned to the other assembled officers.

"Prince-Admiral," Sissir said mockingly, "what will they call themselves next; first it was Warlord, now every idiot with a ship is Grand-whatever-they-please."

Commander Kindran nodded agreement, "it does seem that things are spiraling out of control rather rapidly."

"Orlis," Iriana said with a mirthless smile, "your powers of understatement astound me; this could pose a major problem."

The Major nodded agreement, "I know Director Isard's history, and she doesn't like loose ends, if she discovers that Hades is out here without command, she'll probably send someone to rein us in."

"Then we make sure she doesn't realize who, or what we are;" Garin said simply.

"How do you propose to do that sir? I know the _Knight _is no _Iron Fist_*** but a heavy cruiser flying around with advanced starfighters and priority access codes will draw attention."

"He's right sir," Sissir said. "There's already a data trail leading from our last stop off at an Imperial base. Isard will send someone to check on it, and once they find the log reports about advanced Imperial fighters assisting local governments and convoys they'll start connecting the dots before long. ISB isn't stupid, just fanatical."

Garin considered, the last time they'd stopped at an Imperial facility had been some months ago to resupply their ordnance stores, missiles, torpedoes, bombs, and the like; the combat intensive nature of their current mission set meant they were going through warheads faster than he would have liked. The command codes gave them unlimited access without acknowledging their presence; but that didn't mean it wouldn't be logged by the base that an Imperial warship had stopped to resupply, and if similar accounts of an un-registered heavy cruiser were traced backwards then it would show a string of such re-supplies taking place in the last year beginning just after Endor. Sometimes he missed being legitimate Empire, but that was only when he forgot how wrong it had felt to serve in that Empire; which was rare.

"We don't change anything for now; Gorgon has already jumped to the next waypoint to rendezvous with Mantis and the Major's reconnaissance team. We'll jump to their coordinates, and then scramble our jump pattern, choosing a random hotspot to work in next instead of our intended target."

There was a brief exchange of glances as each weighed their options before everyone nodded agreement.

"Good," Garin said, "send the retrieval signal to Wyvern and let's get moving."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So you continued your operations despite the risk?"

"Of course we did," I said dismissively. "Compared to having the Emperor or Vader watching over our shoulders Isard was a nobody; just a fanatical woman who couldn't, or wouldn't, change with the times. Though I do admit that she was far ahead of us when she took control which came as a nasty shock for everyone, she even enlisted an old friend of ours to find us for her."

Deanna looked at me for a moment before connecting the dots, "she'd already realized what you were doing, and more importantly who you were."

"To a degree, yes" I nodded, a smile playing across my face. "She'd noticed the un-registered cruiser, the _Black Knight, _and began following its movements long before she had Pestage and the IRC killed. When she finally made her move, she came for us in earnest; it was one of her opening moves in her bid to regain what had been lost at Endor…."

**Approximately four years earlier, hyperspace, Tabitha System, Mid Rim Territories**

"Uh, Gar, that isn't the Hutt's ship."

Garin could see very clearly that the ships facing them were not with Vorva the Hutt. In fact he was fairly certain he knew exactly who they belonged to, the only question was how they'd found Hades so quickly. They'd jumped here to engage the Hutt's personal transport, hopefully to kill him and any of his lackeys that had been in evidence, not engage an Imperial task force. An Interdictor Destroyer hung menacingly in front of them, flanked by a Victory II Star Destroyer a Strike cruiser and three Carrack cruisers their fighters were already deployed, this wasn't good. Isard wanted Hades badly if she was risking these combat assets to get their attention, the question that he posed to himself with no safe answer, was this an armed invitation with backup or an extermination team.

"I don't think they want to chat," Matrin said idly.

"What gave you the hint?" Kalan inquired sarcastically, "the gravity wells, or the deployed fighters waiting for us?"

"Sir," Harth said calmly, "those Interceptors are elements of the 181st."

Garin's insides froze; the best official wing in the Empire was here for them? Just how much did Isard know about Hades' capabilities?

"Attention Hades Wing, this is Captain Jorgan, I am here on behalf of Director Isard. She requests that you turn over command of your unit to her authority and return to Imperial Center with us."

"What do we do sir?" Asked Vic'que, her voice sounding uncertain, Garin could understand why. They were outnumbered, even if they brought the _Knight _into the fray, the Victory or Interdictor could easily slug it out with her.

"Lieutenant-Commander Durives, this is Major**** Stele, we need to talk, I'm moving away from the rest of my unit, please follow me."

"Not ordering me this time Major?"

"Consider it a friendly request Durives, don't make this unpleasant."

Toth cut in over the line as Stele got off, "you going over there alone Gar?"

"He is," Garin responded.

"Yes, just because he's being stupid means you should do it too." Toth said his annoyance evident.

"Arm your missiles, but don't give them any target warnings, just be ready to fire."

"Sir, I'd like to talk to Maarek." Vic'que spoke up; there was a nervous tremble in his voice that he didn't like though he felt for her.

"I understand," for once he really did; "but now is not the time Lieutenant," Garin's voice was as gentle as he could make it given the current situation.

"Yes sir," her voice was dejected but she didn't protest at least.

Garin keyed his engines and moved away to intercept with Stele's red striped Interceptor. The two fighters pulled alongside each other, Garin opened a channel with Stele.

"Congratulations on the promotion, did it clear your conscience?"

"Don't start on me; I'm trying to keep you and your people alive. Isard wanted you dead when she realized what you were doing; when she approached me about you I was able to convince her that Hades was a valuable combat asset."

"How kind of you," Garin said nonplussed. "What made you stay with the Empire, you weren't exactly standing with the cheerleaders last I saw you."

"I met the man who commanded the 181st and he provided me all the reassurances I needed to stay."

Garin had to say he sympathized with Stele, if Thrawn was still here; it was quite possible he'd still be fighting for the Empire too. "Fel?"

"Yes, he showed me what the Empire could be, and I chose to stay after that."

"So is he still around then?"

There was a pause, and then Stele came back his voice guarded. "No, he defected after Brentaal IV."

"Imagine that," Garin replied, not bothering to hide his smile.

"Are you going to surrender?"

"Do you seriously expect me to?"

"Don't get Vic'que killed because of your crazed ideals Garin, she deserves better."

Garin's voice hardened, if Stele wanted to hit below the belt then fine. "Says the man who was willing to let her burn up at Endor, I'm sure you care."

The conversation was becoming increasingly hostile and both of them knew it, still, to his credit Stele did try to salvage things.

"I was wrong, and confused. Is she alright?"

"More or less, she's finally settled into the unit, though your betrayal hurt her more than you might realize."

"I'm sorry, tell her that for me."

"If I'm still alive when this is over, I will."

He could hear Stele's drawn breath, "you're willing to die for what you're doing here? Is it so bad to serve the Empire?"

"Is it so bad to do what feels right?" Garin responded blithely.

There was an extended pause, "keep her alive Lieutenant-Commander; please don't get her killed for nothing."

Garin didn't answer, his insides coiling with revulsion at what he did next but there were only so many options available to him. He spun the Defender, and watched mirthlessly as Stele realized what was happening and tried to pull away from him as he raked his ion cannons over the other fighter. Blue lightening coursed over the Interceptor and it went dark as Garin slammed his throttle and keyed his com.

"Hades engage," he said in a voice that surprised him with its composure.

No one needed to be told twice, a barrage of missiles roared from Hades towards their opposites and within ten seconds of the first shots being fired over a dozen fighters died, and another dozen were too badly damaged to stay in the fight. Harth, and by extension Diamond, needed no further encouragement to make use of the confusion punching their engines to full in a burst of speed that could have only been achieved by dumping all their energy into engines, leaving them defenseless. It was risky, but it was effective; they rocketed past the still recovering fighter screen, to their credit, the 181st pilots reacted faster than the other units and turned to chase the advanced bombers, and they might have caught them too if Wyvern and Shadow hadn't dove into their ranks and shattered any semblance of order they'd had.

Gorgon stayed out of the dogfight, peeling away and moving to attack the trio of Carrack cruisers that were now moving in an attempt to screen the Interdictor Destroyer from Diamond. The move worked technically, but the problem was that the Interdictor was not Diamond's target, they were after the Victory and the Imperials, it was so strange thinking of 'Imperial' as a separate entity, realized it too late as the TIE/DBs fired a salvo of missiles, rockets, and bombs at near point blank before peeling away. The warheads impacted against the shields and after the twenty or thirty some hits the shields collapsed and the remaining warheads slammed into the upper hull, opening entire decks to space. The Victory began to peel away in an attempt to save itself, and now the Interdictor and her escorts found themselves moving to shield their shield as the wounded Destroyer turned its damaged hull from its attackers.

The Strike had moved to engage the fighters by this time and was doing its best to provide heavy support for the beleaguered TIEs, Garin had to hand it to the 181st, they were acquitting themselves well, as far as he could tell they hadn't lost anyone, but then again neither had Hades; so perhaps not so well after all. Then things got messy as the _Black Knight _jumped into the system, Garin had been hoping to keep her out of this fight, he blew the TIE Fighter in front of him to pieces and keyed his com.

"Iriana you need to get clear."

"Your concern is noted sir, but this ship and her crew are part of your unit as well, we'll be joining you whether you like it or not."

Without another word the cruiser opened fire with its weapons, pouring a fresh wave of destruction into the much larger Victory. Normally it would have been a one sided match for the Victory, but it was already damaged, not badly enough to not be a threat but enough to make everyone aboard panic. The _Knight _soared past the Victory, using its faster speed to move around the rear of the Destroyer and out of the effective firing arc of the larger warship. This also put the Carracks in prime position for her guns and the _Knight _began pouring green and blue cannon fire into the trio who now found themselves under assault from a swarm of gunboats and a heavy cruiser forcing them to split their fire while the Victory attempted to turn and bring its guns back to bear. Meanwhile, Diamond had moved to the real target, the Interdictor, with her capital ship screen engaged she was attempting to pull clear of the fight.

As with any Interdictor, the gravity wells needed power, and that power meant weaker shielding, and lower weapon fire rates. So though the Destroyer was technically a match for the cruiser, the smaller ship had more energy to throw into weapons and shields, and even if they managed to knock out the _Knight's _shields, there was still the matter of the energized plating. Garin hated to admit it, but he was glad that Iriana had abandoned protocol and joined the engagement. He fired a missile into the Interceptor he was pursuing and had the satisfaction of watching it burst into a small nova. He spun around and found another Shadow, following in his squadmate's wake and providing support fire as they dove through the swarming TIEs. With the _Black Knight _had come Mantis which was now assaulting the Strike cruiser viciously and with their TIE escort tied by Wyvern and Shadow squadrons none of the capital ships had much in the way of cover. That initial assault of missile had made all the difference, breaking nearly three squadrons worth of fighters. Now Hades' opponents no longer had the numbers they needed to simultaneously attack and screen their ships.

Of course that didn't mean that Garin wanted to stay and fight it out, they were still technically outgunned, the _Knight_'s shields trembled under the fresh assault from the Victory as the Destroyer brought its broadside to bear on the cruiser, but then it happened and Garin heard a collective cheer go up as the Interdictor's captain did the only thing he could to save his assaulted ship's battered shields, killed the gravity wells and added the newly freed power to his shields. Shadow, Wyvern, Diamond, Gorgon, Mantis, and the _Black Knight _all vanished in that instant, leaving a bleeding and limping task force with nothing to show for their efforts and wounds save those wounds.

*For those that missed the Timeline Mishap announcement and are wondering how we got back to 4 years before the Present, I was researching the next segment of the story and found that I had mistimed everything; because of this I've had to add two years to each section. The portion of the story denoted as 'Present' (i.e. Garin's interrogation) takes place 9 years after the Battle of Yavin, which means that it takes place 5 years after the Battle of Endor instead of 3 as I had previously stated. I've amended this wherever it occurs (if you catch a spot where this isn't the case, let me know). Sorry for the confusion.

**IC—short for Imperial Center (Coruscant), interchangeably used with Imperial Command which was the chain of command from the Emperor (and his successors) downwards.

***_Iron Fist_—the super star Destroyer under command of Admiral, later Warlord, Zsinj a major player on the galactic field eventually creating a territory of control that rivaled both the Republic and Empire before finally being killed.

****As near as I can tell, Imperial Fighter Command ranks are as follows Ensign, Flight Ensign, Flight Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, Captain, Lieutenant-Commander, Commander, Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel and General. The Alliance/Republic Fighter Command seems to follow a similar setup. I have no idea why they choose to mix up the Army and Navy ranks in fighter command, but they do it nonetheless. There is a strong chance that I am misrepresenting this system, and if anyone has more information on it, please let me know.


	28. Chapter 27

**Approximately four years earlier, hyperspace, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight **_

"Did you see them panic," Matrin laughed merrily. "I swear they had no idea what they were doing!"

"That poor herd of nerfs had no idea what hit them, I can't believe Isard sent them against us." Kalan agreed, taking another bite out of his food.

The pilots were taking it easy and laughing about what they'd just escaped from, thought the laughter was more accurately directed at their would be capturers and their rather incompetent performance than the fact that they had escaped.

"Can you believe we used to be part of the same Navy?" Someone remarked, "too right!" Another called out, "bunch of yahoos wouldn't no which end of a missile was which!"

And those were the sentiments expressed by everyone, save Vic'que who was sitting quietly poking at her meal while everyone else laughed around her.

Garin took the seat besides her, "I didn't kill him you know."

She jumped, as if lost in her own world and gave him a halfhearted glare, "what are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to talk to him, I imagine you were hoping for that chance given what you told me before."

She looked at the others around them, no one was paying them any mind, "I still want to know if I was nothing more than an idle passing for him."

"He said he was sorry, for what that's worth."

She snorted and Garin watched as she crushed the fort she was holding; he took a long draw on his glass, hopefully Stele was more durable than a plasteel utensil otherwise Garin would have been doing him a favor by killing him.

"Did he say anything else?" She finally asked.

"He said to keep you alive, and not get you killed by my fool's ideals."

Now she laughed, but it wasn't the kind of laugh that anyone would want directed at them. "Bastard, I'm here because I choose to be, because I have no where else to go, and because this is the damned closest thing I've had to a home and family in my entire life. What's that say about me, that you nerf herders are the best thing I have?"

Garin pondered what Daru had told him in the past, though he tactfully decided to not mention Daru at the moment, since Vic'que had discovered their relationship she'd been ever pricklier about the matter. He wondered if more people thought of the squadron as their family, besides himself that was. He already knew that he considered these people an extension to his tiny family back on Coruscant. It hadn't occurred to him that the notion of kinship could extend to others besides himself and Daru.

Finally he answered, "you're probably not as singular as you'd like to think."

"You honestly think anyone else would have such a pitiful thought?"

Now it was his turn to snort, "we've got to talk to your parents about raising children."

"I doubt they'd listen to someone from the military caste."

"You act like I'd give them a choice," Garin said with a smile.

She shrugged, a smile playing its way across her face. "Yes, you do tend to create your own rules."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Wait, you went up against the 181st without a single loss?"

"Elements," I corrected off handedly "a later check of the flight data showed that there were at most eight of them there."

"I'm surprised you survived that ambush," she said in disbelief.

"Oh it was amateurish at best, they expected us to rejoin the fold after all, not attack them. Especially not in the manner in which we did; not a lot of pilots would drop their shields and weapons to pump their engines to max during a capital ship assault."

"Under any other circumstances it would have been suicide." She stated flatly.

I nodded, "yes if we hadn't had the element of surprise that we did Diamond wouldn't have been able to drive off the Victory so early in the fighting and the _Knight _would have had a much harder time of it."

"You seem to live on insane risks."

Somewhat ironically I was taking one right now, or at least Hades was which in the end was what she meant.

"From what I've heard, your Rogue squadron does much the same thing and with similar results."

"Not exactly modest are you Commander, comparing yourself to our best." She said with a skeptical eye, though she did smile slightly.

"Did Isard continue to hound your unit after that?"

"Of course, we'd hurt her pride, there was no way she'd let us off the hook. Fortunately she had other more pressing issues than some random fighter wing so she couldn't dedicate more than a few ships to chase us around the galaxy which let us continue to do what we'd assumed as our job…."

**Approximately four years earlier, deep space, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

"We need a new paint job," Kalan declared.

"Huh," Matrin responded, putting down the holobook he'd been reading, "we need a what now?"

"A paint job, you know the kind of thing they used to do back in the Old Republic days."

"I'm going to go with no," Matrin said, eying his friend like he'd gone mad.

"Aw, come on its not like we're Empire anymore, why not get colorful? We're anti-pirates now, why not have something that strikes fear into our enemy's hearts?"

"Is anyone else listening to this?" Matrin asked of the others sitting around the rec room.

"I like it," Toth said with a smile, "he has a point, why not make a name for ourselves with something flashy?"

"I thought the idea was to stay hidden," Matrin reminded him, "and besides, you're a drunk."

"Only occasionally," Toth pointed out lucidly, "I also outrank you, so quiet."

Matrin frowned, "Harth, Garin, any help here?"

Harth and Garin exchanged glances before the former shrugged, "do what you want."

"Oh come on Gar," Toth said merrily, "it isn't like Insane Iceheart* doesn't already know we're out here and she hasn't been able to do anything about it yet."

"Yeah, and what was that last group doing, bringing us gift baskets?" Matrin retorted.

"They didn't even scratch us and you know it, we haven't lost a single pilot to those raids, and the 181st hasn't been sent after us either since that first thrashing we gave them so I say we get the paint job." Toth said, as if he'd just given an Imperial Ordnance.

Harth blinked and went back to his datapad without giving the conversation anymore thought, leaving Garin on his own to deal with three pairs of eyes.

"What are you, a bunch of children?"

Garin breathed a sigh of relief as Sissir walked into the room, though for the life of him he had the unnerving feeling she'd been there longer than just a few seconds.

"Why in space do we need to paint the ship anything?"

"Not just the ship Sissir," Toth said with a smirk as she leaned on the back of his chair and ran a hand through his hair; "the entire unit."

She blinked and shook her head, "why do I fall for the child?"

"Well it was actually my idea," Kalan volunteered.

She shot him an amused smirk, "so you're the one encouraging him, I'll remind Arusi to give you extra work on your time off."

Kalan mocked a wince, "you're cruel, Toth a little help?"

"Hey don't look at him; I just sleep with he—ow!"

"You deserved that," she said flexing her hand, "so Commander, what do you think about all this?"

Garin sighed, so she wasn't here to save him just to add kindling to the fire, "Kalan does have a point, we aren't with the Empire anymore, there's no need for use to bear its colors. After all, most people scare when they see us jump in. It'd be nice to have something that would identify us as something other as Empire when we first arrive."

"And scare our enemies," Toth supplied.

"And scare our enemies, yes;" Garin said, giving his friend an annoyed glare.

"Okay," Matrin said with an exasperated sigh. "Where do we get enough paint? We can't just show up at an Imperial base and ask for a few thousand cans of paint."

Garin thought for a moment before he shook his head disbelievingly of all things to need to use that offer for, this took the cake.

"I've got to say; when I got your message I didn't really know what to think;" he smirked, "granted that didn't stop me from meeting you here." Ace said as he and Garin looked out at the _Black Knight_. The repair yard's massive arms were applying the hyper-adhesive paint to the hull of the cruiser and Garin had to say he liked what he was seeing. The hull was being repainted with a single large black line down its centerline on both ventral and dorsal hulls with two smaller black lines flanking it. Outboard of the trio of lines were two blood red ovals lined with deep blue, these too were both on the dorsal and ventral hulls. The _Knight _was beginning to look like one of the old Venator-class Star Destroyers from the Clone Wars with their colorful pageantry that gave their unit information as it gave the ship a showy appearance.

"Do I want to know what inspired this idea of yours?" Ace asked idly as they turned away from the viewport and began walking.

"My Chief Deck Officer and her crew designed some patterns and passed them through the crew, this was what won out." Garin responded with a smile.

Ace nodded, leading the way into a small lounge and taking a seat as Garin did the same.

"You've got to be the strangest Imp unit I've ever dealt with."

"Well we're not technically Imperial anymore," Garin said, and briefly described what the unit had been doing the past several months since Endor. Ace listened quietly, pouring them both drinks and nodding every now or smiling when something amused him.

When Garin finished he shook his head, "you've got Isard in a fit over your unit, and if you'd like to know, Republic Intelligence doesn't know what to make of you either. Since you've got what amounts to no record; all they've got are a bunch of planetary and sector governments and a scattering of civilians that talk about a military outfit using Imperial equipment to deal with local crime lords and the occasional Moff gone rogue."

"What do you think would happen if we approached the Republic with our services?"

"At this point," Ace said, studying Garin carefully for a moment before continuing. "They'd probably hire you are you actually considering that?"

Garin shook his head, "just curious to know where your camp sits on our activities," he took a sip of his drink; it wasn't the best quality he'd ever had, Toth would have turned up his nose. "That reminds me, what are you doing here? I was expecting to speak with a member of your staff, not you. I'd have thought with all the activity lately that you'd be with your unit."

Ace shrugged, "I got time off for good behavior," he smiled at the dubious look Garin gave him. "No, I've been on leave since just after Bakura; I assume you heard about that?"

Garin nodded, "some unknown alien civilization tried to take over the galaxy starting out in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, well we got there, and the local Imperials agreed to a truce. We were winning and then all hell broke loose when the Imperial flagship slagged our flagship and the other Imperial forces turned on us as well. For a while we all thought we were about to die, General Solo was even about to attempt to ram the Carrack to get the rest of us free. Luke saved us somehow, more of his Force, Jedi, stuff I suppose and managed to give us the window to run. Eventually the Imperial forces surrendered to us, believe it or not the commander had a guilty conscience for shooting us in the back, and we were to beat the invasion without killing anyone else on our own side of the fight. The Ssi-ruuvi had to withdraw after the blow to their command structure that Luke dealt when they captured him and we called it a victory."

"Sounds like fun, but that doesn't explain what you're doing here." Garin pointed out.

"Oh, well I hadn't been able to come back and sort out family matters since just before Endor, so I requested leave, and considering that I'd just had my second command ship blown out from under me in less than a week I guess they decided I was bad luck and let me go." This last part he said with a rather foolish smile, which caused Garin to snort, Ace shrugged. "I'm due back soon, I'll be reporting to the _Defiance _and Jade Squadron so if you run into her try not to shoot me."

"Should you be telling me that?" Garin asked cautiously, nursing his drink distractedly.

"Should I be helping you?" He responded, Garin sighed and gave a shrug with no answer for him.

Ace's comlink buzzed and he pulled it up, "Ace here," he frowned, looking up at Garin for a moment before speaking again. "You're sure?" There was a shouted response from the comlink, "okay calm down; deploy the security units. Are any of our escort ships in the area?" There was a moment of silence before the response came again, "alright, signal the _Tomaas _and tell them they need to abort their convoy run. Reimburse the client and explain the sitau—yes, you do need to reimburse them. Just do it now."

Ace put the comlink back on his belt and stood, walking hurriedly from the room, Garin followed after him matching his agitated stride.

"What happened?"

"Can you still launch fighters with your ship in space dock?" Was the only response he received.

"Easily, so long as the hangar isn't being obstructed."

"Good, looks like you're going to be doing me a favor now," Ace turned the corner sharply forcing Garin to fall behind him for a moment, "an Imperial task force just dropped hyper and is demanding we surrender your unit."

Garin winced, Isard had the worst timing, "can I ask another favor?" Ace cast him a dubious look but nodded, "finish the _Knight's _paint job while we work things out with your guests?"

Ace couldn't help it, he laughed, "oh this is going to be interesting."

"What forces can you deploy?"

"Right now only starfighters; we don't have any bigger combat ships at this station."

"What kind of fighters are we talking about," Garin asked, his voice betraying what he expected to get by way of quality.

Ace scowled, "don't sneer at my people Garin, they're well trained and we've got some nice equipment."

"What kind of fighters," Garin repeated, his tone unchanged.

"Toscan, Razor, and Supa starfighters;" Ace responded, annoyance playing through his voice.

Garin looked at him in surprise, "you've got that much hardware available?"

Ace grinned modestly, "two of our competitors had a few mishaps over the course of the war and had to sell a lot of excess equipment, we were able to acquire most of their surplus, and not just fighters, we got a few capital ships, freighters, and transports in the mix."

"What is the _Tomaas_?"

"A bulk cruiser modified for combat it can carry a squadron of fighters, it'll be here in about forty-minutes."

"How many fighters do you have on hand right now?"

Ace gave an apologetic smile, eight Toscans, thirteen Razors and five Supas. We had to distribute our units around quite a bit; the _Tomaas _is carrying seven more Razors and five more Toscans."

"Well I've got an entire fighter wing, I think that will even the odds."

"I hope," Ace responded cautiously, "let's find out what we're up against first."

He gestured down the corridor to their left, "your ship is that way, I'm going to get the _Otana_ out there."

Garin reached for his comlink, "Iriana, I won't be rejoining the unit, launch all fighters, Harth has command."

"Where are you sir?"

"Aboard the station, oh and don't undock yet, they need to finish the painting."

"I don't think this is the time to worry about a little paint sir," Iriana said reproachfully.

"Just make sure it's done before you set out okay? I don't want us overstaying our welcome more than we have to."

He replaced the comlink, Ace was looking at him like he'd sprouted a second head, "you'd rather fly in my transport than your fighter?"

"Are you going to show me the way or not?"

"Come on then, Emkay is going to love this."

Garin groaned, "you brought the damned droid?"

*Due to her rather unique name, Ysanne Isard earned many nicknames, Insane, Iceheart, and Icehard being among them.


	29. Chapter 28

**Approximately four years earlier, Twin Suns Repair Station, Outer Rim Territories**

"I can't get a clear shot, stop jerking us around!"

"I thought you were supposed to be good Imperial." Emkay said touchily.

Garin ground his teeth, together, swiveling his turret around and squeezing the firing studs, blowing away another TIE.

"Ace, if you're short one droid after this I apologize."

"No," Ace said, the smile on his face was audible, "don't shoot him, he's like family."

Another TIE burst into space dust as it crossed Garin's firing arc, he looked down at the sensors it was quiet for the time being, at least in their little slice of space. The battle was still raging; the Imperial task force had turned out to be an Escort Carrier being escorted by a trio of Nebulon B and B2 frigates with a single Strike cruiser, it was nothing that the _Knight _couldn't outfight, but she was still in dock, much to the compound amusement and annoyance of most of his wing. They were amused that the paint job was being finished before the ship went into combat, and were annoyed for the same reason. A few of his pilots had even asked if he was insane, considering what he'd been doing with Hades these past months, it was quite possible he was just that. Hades had thus far been doing a fine job of keeping the enemy fighters from the station and the ships berthed there, it had been an interesting show of faith on Ace's customers' parts when they'd opted to stay docked at the station within the protective shield and weapons platforms instead of fleeing. It made Garin wonder if the Azzameen business had to deal with this kind of thing regularly.

Certainly his pilots seemed combat trained, they'd been acquitting themselves well as far as he could see, with only three losses to the Imperial force's two dozen so far, the lack-luster performance of the current Imperial pilot caused a great deal of worry for him; it meant that training standards were lagging and that the Republic would be gaining ground rapidly from this point on if the performance given by the pilots was reflected on all aspects of the Imperial war machine.

"All this trouble for a single unit," Emkya was muttering, "you'd think the Imperials could find something better to do."

"I'm more worried about what they are doing than what they might do Emkay." Ace responded, "get us back in the fight."

"I can't wait, here I come Imperial scum, prepare to eat vacuum!" Emkay said, sounding all too delighted for a droid.

"Ace, what did you do to that thing when you bought it?"

"Don't look at me, my sister is the one that did most of the modifications on him; and even she isn't sure how he got so trigger happy."

"Great," Garin said shaking his head and watching as the _Otana _turned back towards the fight. "We're in the hands of a droid with anger management issues."

"I heard that," Emkay responded.

"I swear you two fight more than my brother and sister," Ace said with a chuckle.

"Imperial fighters coming at us," Emkay said hungrily, "get ready!"

Garin rolled his turret over to face the fore of the _Otana _where the incoming fighters would be coming from, his targeting sensor showed him the nearest TIE approaching rapidly and he began to lead before the fighter even cleared the horizon of the transport's hull, his shots tore into the starboard solar panel and threw it into an aimless spiral into space. Its wingmates came on strong, but their attacks glanced off the _Otana's _illegal shielding and the dual quads manned by Ace and Garin tore them to pieces, leaving only a handful of survivors to make a second pass, and they quickly peeled away and drew out of range rather than facing the deadly cannon fire again. Garin would have tried again, but to be fair, he'd have been flying a Defender.

"Garin, this is Ace, we've got help."

"That bulk cruiser of yours in system?"

"Yeah, and their fighters made the jump with them so we just got a new squadron."

"Well," Emkay said disagreeably, "we hardly needed them; I thought we'd been doing rather well."

"Show some gratitude droid, more help is never a bad thing." Garin said searching for his next target as a bomber vanished under his guns.

"Speaking of help, your ship is clearing dock."

"Can you patch me through?"

Emkay went quiet, "Emkay?" Ace said reproachfully. "Oh alright, I just wanted to see if I could crack their networks."

"Don't," Garin said, "our barriers will eat you alive. Iriana?"

"Here sir, the _Knight _has cleared dock, paint intact." This last part she added with a rather annoyed tone. "We're moving to engage the enemy."

Garin checked his targeting data; Diamond and Mantis had already knocked out one of the Neb-Bs and were engaging the other B and the B2.

"If you can, engage that Escort Carrier, if we drive off their base ship we might be able to get them to surrender."

"Surrender sir?"

"Would you want to keep fighting when your way home had just jumped and left you to burn?"

"Point taken, I'll see what we can do, we may have to go through that Strike first."

The _Knight's _engines flared and the heavy cruiser plowed forwards into the barrage from the medium cruiser, shrugging off the turbolaser fire and returning with its own fusillade of cannon fire. Blue and green energy bolts reached out and laced the Strike's shields as it returned fire with its own guns in an attempt to slow the larger cruiser down.

"Garin, your people seem to have scared them, the fighters are bugging out." Ace called out, Garin checked his sensors and confirmed that the TIEs were withdrawing towards their capital ships.

"Iriana, cease operations and stand down."

"Sir," her tone asked the question that her words did not.

"We're not here to slaughter our former fleet; we're here to defend a friend. If they're bugging out, let them."

"Yes sir, passing the order onto the squadrons now."

Hades and the defense fighters disengaged, the Imperials retrieved their fighters and then something happened that surprised Garin; they broadcast in the clear.

"This is Captain Demaris to unknown heavy cruiser, we stand down, I repeat we are ceasing hostilities, request a ceasefire to allow search and rescue operations."

"That's a new one," Ace said, sounding as surprised as Garin felt.

"Let them freeze in space," Emkay muttered, "they attacked us after all, and now they're begging for their lives. I say we space them."

"You would," Garin responded coolly, "Ace, it's your call."

"It's your cruiser."

"True, but this is your space, if you want Imperials lingering it's your call."

"I'm letting you stay aren't I?" Ace switched to an open broadcast, "Captain Demaris, this is Captain Ace Azzameen of the Republic and Co-Owner of Twin Suns Shipping, you are cleared for search and rescue, your fighters will remain aboard your ships and only shuttlecraft will be permitted to engage in the search."

"Thank you Captain Azzameen," Demaris responded, the relief in his voice evident. "We didn't sign up to be slaughtered by whatever you've got going here."

"Just some very special friends Captain, try cultivating a few sometime," Ace said quietly; Garin smiled, special friends indeed.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Azzameen sounds almost as bad as you," Deana said with a scowl.

I shrugged, smiling at her annoyance "probably why we got along so well during that time."

"I can't believe you ordered your ship to remain in dock for a coat of paint."

"Most of my wing had the same reaction, yes, a few like Matrin and Kalan just rolled with laughter afterwards."

"One thing I'm curious about, you suffered no losses during that initial campaign, but after Endor you had to recoup your losses and pull in personnel from outside your normal channels. Didn't they feel at all out of place doing what they were doing?"

"Of course they did, especially whenever Isard managed to throw one of her nooses around our necks. Most of us didn't like the idea of fighting Imperials, after all until very recently we'd been Imperials. Almost all of us though, with the exception of a few, believed that what we were doing was of more service to the Empire than actually being under the control of power crazed Moffs and Admirals playing warlord."

"And those that didn't think that way?"

Her tone told me what she expected to hear, that I'd had them shot or thrown in the brig, or any number of equally unpleasant fates. "They stayed out of a sense of community and loyalty to the unit. We never lost anyone to desertion or difference of opinion."

She blinked, considering this for a moment before she continued. "That's…surprising."

"You were expecting a harsher hand I imagine."

Carefully she nodded agreement, I shrugged. "I wasn't some tyrannical despot, if someone wanted to leave then they were welcome to debark at our next stop. I made that very clear when we started our rogue cruises after Endor. I think peer pressure played a large part in why most stayed. With the exception of the new guys, who stayed because they'd never been part of anything like this before, those with misgivings stayed because we were family; and regardless of our differences in opinion, they weren't willing to leave that family. Especially in the midst of all the turmoil following Endor, Hades gave them, regardless of its mission, a place to call home."

"After that incident the Twin Suns repair yard you returned to your normal cruise routines?"

"Yes, we moved from place to place just like before and as time wore on Isard stopped coming after us, eventually her attacks ceased altogether. Either she realized we were too expensive to hunt, or simply ran out of resources to do so; I admit I'm not entirely sure which it was."

"So without her dogging your every move, what did you do?"

"Nothing changed; we helped to liberate over a dozen systems from local gangs, warlords, and crime syndicates in the years we operated in the Mid and Outer Rims."

"That many," she asked in surprise, I nodded. "I never realized you'd taken part in that many operations, though it explain why so many planetary and system governments were rising to power in those regions."

"We moved around fairly rapidly, approached local authorities, offered our services for a fee or supplies in return, and then eliminated whatever stood in our path before departing. A few governments tried to keep us on as the basis for their own fleet. I was offered to be made an Admiral on a few occasions."

"And yet you never took the offers."

"We weren't there to become what we were fighting, we wanted to eliminate the local oppressors; not become one ourselves. We never visited the same system twice as a rule; if they couldn't put themselves together after our intervention then it was their problem, not ours."

"You sound almost like some kind of noble mercenary." She said with a soft chuckle.

"Applying the holodramas to reality again Lieutenant?" I asked with an amused smile.

"It seems to fit you rather well." She countered, "something must have changed though, since around the time of the fall of Coruscant reports of your units activities dropped off."

"Coruscant fell to the Republic and I received the first message from my family I'd had since joining Hades...."

**Approximately two years earlier, deep space aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

"Gar, I hope you get this. I've been saving all this time to send this to you, ever since your last visit just before Endor. I was so happy for you then, it sounded like you'd found something you believed in; I know you joined the Empire to help support us, but you never could hide things from me very well. I know you felt cooped up and smothered here. I can't say I blame you, I even envied you for being able to escape."

His sister paused, brushing her gold-brown hair out of her face, she seemed older than Garin remembered, worn, tired. She leaned forwards, "the Republic attacked and took Coruscant you probably know that already; we're all safe so don't try to fight your way through the Republic Fleet to save us or something." Her smile was knowingly gentle. "I know you'd do it too, so please don't. A lot of people are scared, unsure about what the new regime will bring." A wry, familiar, smile played across her face; "I hope you're still alive Gar, so much has happened and aside from the credits you used to wire us we haven't heard anything. When they stopped coming I worried that you'd been killed at Endor, its still unclear exactly what happened there, but I know that a large portion of our Fleet was there," hearing his sister refer to the Imperial Fleet as 'their fleet' brought a needed smile to his face, if only she could see him now.

"I just hope this reaches you, and you're alright, and…I love you little brother. I know you're an Imperial officer, but the war is over I think, even if the Empire and the warlords keep fighting, the Republic has won no matter how you look at it." She reached out a holographic hand towards Garin and he let the miniaturized hand rest in his palm as if it were actually there and not just a holo. "Come home soon Gar, we all miss you."

The holo ended and Garin leaned back in his desk chair, considering what his sister had said. He hadn't seen her since just after the Zaarin campaign, five years ago. He'd stopped making the regular credit payments to his family when he'd stopped getting regular payment chits. He bit his lip and let his mind wander back down various avenues of the past, recalling his childhood, the swoop and speeder races in the maze of the undercity. The close calls with the police, the thrill of winning and the smiles on his sister's and cousins' faces when he brought home those winnings; things had been…different.

"You miss them?"

He jumped as Daru slid her arms around his shoulders and in the same motion slid into his lap, kissing him softly. "How long have you been here?" He asked incredulously.

She smiled coyly at him, "long enough," her smile faltered. "You aren't mad at me are you? For listening I mean."

He snorted and shook his head, "no I suppose not, I want you to meet them eventually anyways, and there wasn't anything overly personal in the message."

She looked at him worriedly, "you haven't talked to them in what now, five or six years? Hearing from your family after all this time is a big deal Garin, don't tell me it isn't."

He smiled at her, "it isn't." She punched his chest, scowling. "Okay okay, yeah, it is a big deal. I can't believe she actually saved up her creds for that call, hypercom isn't cheap, especially on Coruscant."

The conversation might have continued, but his com buzzed, Daru leaned against him, breathing softly as he answered.

"Yes?"

"Garin," Toth said, he sounded shaken, "turn on the holonews, you've got to see this."

He flipped the holodisplay back on, Daru turned her head to watch as well; then both of them froze, dumbfounded as they watched an Executor-class super star destroyer rising from the cityscape of Coruscant climbing vertically towards the atmosphere.

"Oh space me," whispered Daru, her eyes bulging, "the repsorlift power to get that thing clear of the atmosphere is astronomical. What is the Republic doing? They'll kill thousands!"

Garin looked at the headline and caught his breath, "that's not the Republic, its Isard."

"What?"

He nodded at the display, tapping the headline and enlarging it: _Infamous Lusankya prison discovered to be massive warship hidden beneath Imperial City; live footage of Lusankya's escape._

"Oh gods," Daru whispered, anyone who knew ISB knew about _Lusankya, _the only prisons in the galaxy that possessed as much infamy were the spice mines on Kessel and the Corporate Sector's detention blocks. No one though, had ever realized it was a ship, or that it had been hidden on Coruscant. As they watched, _Lusankya_ blasted its way through the layered shields of the planet and proceeded into the upper atmosphere before finally making space, where it dropped the massive repulsor sled that had been attached to her keel, it fell back to the surface and Garin winced as he imagined the tens of thousands of people that would be killed by the impact, millions more would be injured, so densely packed was the population. The holonews continued to broadcast the _Lusankya _as it shot its way past the defense platforms around the planet's orbit before clearing the gravity well, blurring with pseudo-motion and leaping into hyperspace. Garin and Daru sat in silence and watched as the report turned to the devastation wreaked on Imperial City and the Republic's response to the disaster. The galaxy had just become a whole super star destroyer more complicated for them, especially if Isard was holding a grudge.

"Sir," Kindran's voice caused them both to jump.

"Yes, what is it Orlis?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, but we've just received a broad range holocom message."

He frowned, what was going on now? "Who is transmitting the message?"

"Warlord Zsinj sir, he says he knows about us, and would like to speak with our commander."

Garin's stomach clenched as he shook his head, "this just keeps getting better."

"Yes sir," Kindran responded tonelessly as Daru pressed against him and he wrapped his arms around her; the galaxy had just become two super star destroyers more complicated.


	30. Chapter 29

**Approximately two years earlier, deep space aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight **_

"….and so I would like to think that we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement that ensures that no unpleasantness need occur. I have attached contact details to this message, and I hope it finds you swiftly, Wings of Hades."

The transmission ended, Zsinj's overlarge holo vanished and left the cave in silence as Garin and the others considered what Zsinj had just said.

"Quite a snob isn't he." Major Yvonne finally said tacitly.

"He probably sees himself as the next Palpatine," responded Kalan, his distaste evident even without his expression.

"That doesn't answer the question of how he found out about us, even at the peak of his power he was only an admiral he wouldn't have had clearance to know about Hades." Iriana said pointedly.

Harth shrugged, leaning back against the railing around the holoprojector, "Isard found out about us, Zsinj is known to have intelligence assets that are at least as good as the Republic or Empire. If he had agents on Coruscant within shouting distance of Isard I imagine he could have learned many things and not just about Hades."

"How astute," Vic'que said tersely, "do real palms as well?"

Harth scowled at her but said nothing; other opinions were exchanged on Zsinj's message and what it implied for Hades. All the while Garin remained silent as he considered what Zsinj was offering, supposedly in exchange for pay, Hades would be employed by Zsinj for who knew what. Though it would be against every conceivable target, from Republic and Imperial, to civilian and criminal; three of those options he wasn't adverse too, but as one of the major warlords, in fact Zsinj was arguably The Warlord, with an empire that rivaled any legitimate power in the galaxy in terms of sheer size and firepower it could bring to bear. To say that Zsinj could make Hades' lives troublesome was more of understatement than saying it of Isard; she had been a nuisance, the Empire she commanded so fractured and unstable that she hadn't had the forces to waste on Hades past that first assault. After that, the forces she had sent against Hades had been second rate at best, and more frequently third or fourth rate if not worse. Zsinj had a unified command structure as far as Garin knew, and a sizable core fleet that could be broken down into task forces in addition to a multitude of pirate and mercenary forces.

He also had far more experience in the kind of warfare that Hades was familiar with, which meant that he would be far more deadly than Isard simply for the fact that he would know the kind of war that Hades could fight and would probably know how to deal with anything that Hades attempted. His thoughts were broken when he realized that everyone was staring at him expectantly.

With a sigh, he shrugged, "we'll meet with him."

"Oh you can't be serious," Toth said aghast, "Gar he's what we've been fighting against all this time."

"No," Vic'que corrected eyeing Garin, "he's worse than anything we've gone up against. The largest organization we've fought has been sector wide, Zsinj spans several sectors. We can't fight him."

"I'm inclined to agree," Commander Kindran said, "we do not have the resources necessary to do what we did with Isard here. If we run from Zsinj he will have far more resources to bring against us and if the reports of his forces are accurate, he has maintained the Empire's standard of pre-Endor training."

"So we'd be going up against a whole lot of far more competent pilots." Matrin said grimly.

Garin nodded, "I don't like this anymore than the rest of you, but we need to at least think about this. At the very least this will give us a chance to meet our enemy."

"So he is our enemy then," Vic'que said.

"Of course he is," Garin responded, "he's just another warlord and we've been fighting those for a few years now. I see no reason to change that."

"So what do you plan to do?" Harth asked quietly.

"First, I need to speak with him."

Garin turned and left the room, Toth looked at Daru who seemed just as unsure as everyone else, no one in the room had any idea what Garin was thinking; and that made them all a little worried.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Wait, you were going to meet with Zsinj?" Deana's tone was one of shock, even horror; I gave an enigmatic smile and shrugged.

"I didn't have very many options at that point."

"You could have kept on running," she said pointedly.

"Not really, with Isard on the loose I didn't want to risk my people out in the open any longer."

"But she took Thyferra and never left, what were you afraid of?"

"I had no idea what Isard would do; she was a trapped and wounded animal that knew how to hold grudges. The Republic as far as I knew was ignoring her so that left open the possibility that she would pursue us, possibly with the _Lusankya._"

"So you just gave up and joined with Zsinj?"

"You're jumping to conclusions," I said placidly.

She seemed almost exasperated as she leaned back and glared at me, "you're not making any sense."

"And you're interrupting me," I countered calmly.

"Fine, I can't wait to hear what you did this time," I sighed at the annoyance in her voice, this was like story time in grade school.

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight **_

"I've been following Isard's rather pitiful attempts to control your unit's movements and I must say that I am very impressed at the capabilities you exhibit. I can pay handsomely for such ability."

Garin nodded, standing with his hands clasped at his back, "what exactly do you have in mind?"

"Full military-grade salaries for you and your crew, plus bonuses for exemplary work," the towering visage of Zsinj stroked his elaborate mustache with an arrogant smile. "I think you'll find that I am being more than generous."

"Yes," Garin responded guardedly, "you understand that my unit has been fighting people like you these past few years, why should we join you?"

"Because like Isard I do not like loose ends Commander and your unit is a loose end. However unlike Isard who simply believed that you could be bullied into submission, I believe that you can be bought for the right price; and that price is as I have stated, as well as protection from the Empire, the Republic, and Isard's little farce on Thyferra."

Garin heard Iriana's drawn breath and knew what she was thinking, she and Orlis were from Thyferra, and its take over by Isard was a hard blow to both; where everyone else saw disaster, Garin had found a way to avoid Zsinj's wrath while giving his people a new goal that would in turn protect them as it gave them purpose.

"I'm sure you've realized my Lord," Garin began, his voice practically slathering Zsinj's ego, "my unit values its independence and we also consider Isard to be a personal enemy." He could see Zsinj's eyes becoming guarded, but the Warlord had not gotten where he was by being rigid, Garin had to trust in his willingness to bargain. "I propose a loose alliance, you will need bacta, which Isard will be unlikely to sell to you given your…relationship with her. We will act as your go betweens shall we say, and provide you with bacta, in exchange for supplies and protection within your space should we require it."

Zsinj's eyes flickered as he considered, stroking his mustache before he finally spoke. "Hardly an ideal arrangement from my perspective, I could simply arrange for real commerce raiders instead of wasting your unit's rather unique abilities."

The fact that he was hearing Thrawn's praise for Hades coming from Zsinj caused Garin's mouth to rise though he kept the smile from his features; letting Zsinj deliberate over what he'd been offered, finally Zsinj harrumphed loudly.

"We can't continue this discussion like this Commander; I insist that you join me for dinner aboard the _Iron Fist. _Shall we arrange a time and place to meet?"

"I believe Lord Zsinj, you'll understand if I am cautious to accept that invitation."

Zsinj's eyes darkened and he leaned forwards threateningly; "you wish to bargain Commander, I am offering you the chance to convince me that force is not how to bring your unit into my fold; do not test my patience. Will you accept my offer?"

Garin took a deep breath before he finally spoke, "if you threaten my people, I guarantee that we will become a very dangerous enemy, and you will wish you'd never heard of us."

There was a long silence as the pair of them stared at one another, two wills testing the other's resolve, finally Zsinj's face broke into a broad smile and he chortled merrily; though to Garin, the sound was far from comforting even if it was obviously mirthful.

"I can't conceive how the Emperor allowed you to live Commander; surely he would have had you killed. You really must tell me more about your unit; I am most interested to hear how such a man as yourself came to control it."

"I interested the right people I suppose," Garin said offhandedly.

"Well then you are gifted in such things because now you have my interest, I am forwarding coordinates for you, I hope you'll not snuff this offer, and do wear something nice, I hate entertaining tasteless guests."

The transmission ended, and Garin turned to look at Sissir who shrugged, "quite the jolly egotist I'll give him that, but he's not nearly as friendly as he seems."

"There's real threat behind his bluster and pomp is what you mean;" Garin said, leaning against the rail and holding his chin thoughtfully, "anything less obvious?"

She nodded, "I did a background check, would it surprise you to learn that he served under Thrawn, and that he has an extreme distaste for him?"

"Pure xenophobia or actual personal dislike," it was no surprise that a flag officer would resent Thrawn being promoted in a human dominated navy.

"Oh he apparently actually hates Thrawn on a purely personal level that has nothing to do with Thrawn being an alien;" she considered for a moment and frowned, "you know I never thought about it before, but does anyone actually know what Thrawn is?"

"Got me," Garin said with a shrug, "Iriana any recommendations?"

"If we're going to meet him sir, there's little we can do other than try not to get on his bad side until after we've cleared the _Iron Fist; _I'm sure its rather obvious that the _Knight _cannot go against that monster."

"No faith in your ship Captain?"

She gave him a friendly glower, "I'll face the jaws of whatever hell you walk us into, but an Executor is another matter." Her features shifted slightly as she continued, "are you serious about the bacta raids?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"And you'll give it to Zsinj just like that?"

"We need to insulate ourselves, dodging Isard's fractured Empire was one thing, Zsinj controls as much space as the Remnant or the Republic and is better organized than the former and more ruthless than the latter. If we don't do this then we'll have more than idle threats to deal with."

"You're afraid of him," the three of them turned to see Vic'que leaning against the wall of the Cave.

Garin looked at the others and the technicians manning their stations around the Cave before nodding; "terrified."

"And yet you're going to walk right into his lair to bargain with him," she said wonderingly, walking down into the pit to join them. "You make no sense even in the best of circumstances."

"I try," he said with a smile, "it seems to keep me alive."

She sighed and shook her head, "sir, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to survive, which is exactly what we have been doing."

Iriana raised an eyebrow, "you're thinking again."

"How can you tell?" Sissir said, as Garin's gaze turned to her, or more accurately her figure; she eyed him uncertainly. "Toth is going to object to that look."

"Let him, I just had an idea, in your opinion what would you say Zsinj's view on women was?"

"He probably sees them as objects, pieces of art to be looked at," Vic'que supplied, and then her eyes narrowed. "I left my family because I didn't want to be paraded around as some kind of bargaining chip. If you expect me to—"

"I'm not asking you to marry him," Garin cut her off, "just to distract him, find something nice to wear, both of you."

He turned to leave, leaving the three women standing there exchanging worried glances.

"Does anyone else think he's stretching himself?" Vic'que asked a frown on her face.

"I didn't know you cared," Sissir said placidly, shrugging off the glare that earned her. "Don't give me that look, you used to want him dead half the time."

"People change," Iriana said sagely, "and I think he is too in his own way. He sees all of us as his responsibility."

"All I know," Sissir said simply, "is that if he expects me to wear a dress I'll put my boot up his rear."

Vic'que snorted, shaking her head and wondering just what Garin had in mind this time.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbrinji Shipyards**

"Wait you wanted your people to do what?"

"Provide a distraction," I answered calmly, though I was smiling inside.

"You wanted your female officers to dress up for Zsinj so you could get a better deal from him!" She said accusingly.

"The sexes are an amusing thing aren't they?" I asked with a smirk, "warlords are no different from other men, throw a beautiful woman in front of them and they'll have all kinds of thought conflicts."

"I don't believe this, if you asked me to do that I'd shoot you."

"Major Yvonne almost did, I'm lucky that she agreed to come at all and just wear her uniform. I think she wanted to kill me when I first explained the plan."

"What about Luixana? After all, it was his woman that you were using."

"Oh he had a good laugh, and a few extra bruises in the next sparring round he participated in. I had a bloody nose and a few sprains."

"Serves you right," she said with a scowl, "so how did you get out of that one?"

"The usual way, a lot of bluster and quick thinking; a little confidence goes a long way."

"You mentioned that you were actually afraid of Zsinj, care to tell me why?"

"He was a man who managed to convince the Republic that he was not a threat, what more need I say?"

"We had other problems," she said defensively, another nerve hit. "Isard and the Imperial Remnant were a bigger threat at the time."

"Right," I said with a smile, "in all honesty, Zsinj was always a bigger threat than Isard. If she had Zsinj's political prowess she may have been a real threat, but she was really just a madwoman with delusions of reliving past glory."

"You were afraid of her," she pointed out tersely. "Doesn't that prove she was a threat?"

"I was afraid of _Lusankya," _I corrected calmly, "not Isard. Isard by herself was harmless compared to Hades; however the _Lusankya _was another matter entirely. We could never hope to take down an Executor."

"Rogue Squadron did," she pointed out smugly.

"They had a lot of help from what I hear, and the backing of a governmental body if I remember correctly; we were on our own with one heavy cruiser and a wing of fighters. The closest thing we had to an ally at that point was Azzameen and his corporation. We needed the guarantee of _Iron Fist _to ensure that Isard wouldn't send _Lusankya _after us."

"Did you always intend to engage her Thyferra operations?"

I nodded, "she was exactly what we were fighting against, rogue officials taking chunks of the galaxy for themselves."

"And Zsinj was different?" She asked incredulously, I swore that she was accusing me of being hypocritical; which I suppose to be fair, was at least partially true. To be honest, siding with Zsinj had gone against everything we'd been fighting for, but we needed protection at that point, between the Remnant, the Republic, Zsinj, and the various other rogue states cropping up, the galaxy was getting too crowded to be neutral.

"Zsinj, at the very least, was sane if nothing else. He was also ingenious, you might not know this, but even though he and Thrawn never liked one another, Thrawn always respected his abilities to work with what was provided him…."


	31. Chapter 30

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, on approach to **_**Iron Fist**_

"I can't believe we're doing this," muttered Vic'que, shifting in her uniform uncomfortably, she was wearing her hair loose and it fell down between her shoulder blades, besides her Sissir sighed.

"For a change, I guess we agree with one another."

Garin was leaning against the bulkhead leading to the cockpit of the shuttle, listening to the com chatter.

"Shuttle _Corvinthus _this is _Iron Fist, _confirm itinerary."

_"Iron Fist_ this is _Corvinthus _and escort on approach for a meeting with Warlord Zsinj, permission to land in your secondary hangar deck."

"Copy that _Corvinthus_, you check out and are expected, permission to land in secondary hangar bay four. Your escort is cleared to within one kilometer of the _Iron Fist."_

"Received _Iron Fist_, on approach now; _Corvinthus _out."

Garin smiled, the escort consisted of four flight elements, each from his squadrons. He'd left Mantis behind as support for the _Knight _but the three Defenders, Avengers, Gunboats, and Diamond Blues would be more than enough to preview what Hades had to offer.

He looked back at his companions, Vic'que was wearing her black dress uniform without the cap, Sissir wore the slate gray uniform denoting her as Special Forces, her close cropped hair in stark contrast to Vic'que's long flowing hair; while Vic'que wore no weapon, Sissir insisted on having her blaster pistol at her side, and gods help anyone that tried to take it from her. Across from them sat Daru, being the only member of the crew that had anything other than uniforms to wear, she had decided with his encouragement to wear the dress that Thrawn had provided her. He knew that she was nervous, that she feared that Zsinj's people might become a bit too interested in her, but between himself, Vic'que and Sissir, none of whom were pushovers in a fight, he was confident that she'd be safe. He also hoped that the paint that the shuttle and fighters sported would impress, the shuttle had the same black stripes that the _Knight _carried with the red oval rimmed in blue, while each of the fighters had the same pattern emblazoned on their wings or solar panels, or as the case was with the absent Blastboats, hulls. Garin himself wore his light gray uniform with cap and he'd gone one step further and worn the officer's full cape* that befit his rank. It looked ridiculous, but with someone like Zsinj, pompous wasn't bad.

He didn't want Zsinj to see a weak force coming to beg for his assistance, Garin wanted to impress upon the Warlord that this was a capable and deadly fighting force that was offering him its services in exchange for certain guarantees. He watched as the hull of the _Iron Fist _filled the viewscreen and the fighters pulled away, rolling and waggling in salute as they returned to the _Knight_ which was well out of firing range of the star destroyer. The shuttle entered the hangar, its wings folding upwards as the tractor beam took over. It touched the deck and the pilots cycled the engines, Garin turned to Sissir and nodded, she stood and turned to the eight commandos who had accompanied them.

"Escort, fall in!" The eight armored figures snapped to attention, they would not have their weapons drawn so as not to provoke anyone, but their rifles were slung over their shoulders and they carried the hip holstered pistols and boot sheathed vibroblades that were their standard kit. In their slate combat armor, Garin was fairly certain that no one would come near the shuttle while they were with Zsinj.

The ramp lowered and Sissir's voice barked again, "fall out and form up!"

They marched down the ramp two abreast, forming a corridor for Garin and the others to walk through; Sissir looked down the ramp and nodded approval, turning to Garin.

"Ready sir," she said with a salute that she followed with an amused smile. Hades rarely had need for this kind of parade procedure. Her commandos had needed to brush up on the proper etiquette before she'd even considered volunteers for the assignment.

"Alright," Garin said, offering Daru her arm. "Let's go dine with a Warlord."

Sissir walked down the ramp first, followed by Garin and Daru with Vic'que bringing up the rear. The scene that greeted them was to be expected, and Garin had to admit that he was impressed by how military everything looked. The soldiers that greeted him were clad in black armor with red visors, boots, and gloves, all trimmed in yellow. Their armor looked like someone had melded the Imperial Guard and Stormtrooper armors together and lightened them considerably. To their credit, despite the eight armed commandos who had trooped down the ramp they hadn't gone for their own weapons.

A single officer waited at the head of the assembled troopers, eying Garin and his entourage with an unpleasant smile. "Lieutenant Commander Durives I assume." He said, reaching his hand out, Garin shook it, careful of the bizarrely sharp nails on the man's fingers. "General Melvar, I am Warlord Zsinj's right hand."

"A pleasure General, may I introduce my CDO, Chief Kerrila, Major Yvonne my commando team leader, and Lieutenant Sajuuk, one of my squadron leaders."

Melvar greeted them all with a cool smile, his eyes falling on Sissir's blaster, "I'm afraid that you may not take that with you Major."

She smiled at Melvar in a pantomime of his smile. "And I'm afraid General, that I am not going anywhere without it."

Melvar snorted, considering her for a moment before snapping his fingers, two of the troopers fell out and made to disarm Sissir, her commandos reached for their weapons but she raised a hand and they once again resumed their attentive stance. She waited for the first trooper to reach for her, before spinning out of his reach and delivering what should have been a jaw shattering kick to the second man. He caught it however and made to twist her leg but she used the leverage to pull herself upwards and deliver a blow with her free leg that connected with the trooper's chin, sending the man staggering backwards before he fell to the floor. The first trooper fell back into a guarded stance while Sissir remained open, waiting for her opponent to move; when he didn't she sighed and drew her blaster a single motion and pointed it at her opponent's faceplate, firing a blue stun blast point blank and dropping him to the deck in the time it took to draw a breath. There was a long silence, and Garin wondered if the show would cost them Zsinj's good will, but after a moment more of quiet, Melvar began clapping, his smile one of genuine pleasure.

"That was unexpected, after such a show I believe I have to let you keep your weapon or risk having more men in the infirmary. Please come this way."

They fell in behind Melvar, but not before Sissir nodded to the commandos who moved to stand guard around the shuttle, none of Zsinj's people were to be allowed anywhere near it, that Zsinj would try to place a beacon or other device aboard the _Corvinthus _was a given, but Garin would be damned if he'd make the task easy for him. They followed Melvar to a waiting repulsor shuttle, taking their seats as the vehicle whisked them towards their destination. Garin had to say he was relieved, the _Iron Fist _was nineteen kilometers long, and he hadn't been looking forward to walking; he took careful note of how rehearsed everything was en route to their meeting with Zsinj. There always seemed to be something for Melvar to point out that exemplified the excellence of the personnel under Zsinj's command. It was a good, if somewhat annoying sign, it meant that Zsinj saw reason to impress them which in turn meant he saw Hades as something valuable. Of course he'd said as much before in their holo communications, however to actually see it in action was reassuring. Besides him, Daru leaned closer to him, reaching a hand down and clasping his tightly. Her head-tails were twitching nervously and he gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze as the repuslor craft continued its course through the halls of the star destroyer.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser, **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyard**

"He gave you the full tour," Deana said with a smile, "I'm sure he expected you to be in awe of his ship."

I chuckled, remembering the hour long tour through the ship we'd been sent on, in the end when we'd reached our destination all four of us were fairly certain that we'd simply been going in circles on a guided tour whose sole purpose was to show what we could be a part of.

"Zsinj was a showman among other things; he knew how to inspire awe when he wished to."

"Were you in awe?"

"We'd seen and done too much by that point to be in awe of what amounted to a larger version of the people we'd been tearing down in the years since Endor. We were simply there to come to an agreement that would benefit us and wasn't too damning either."

"I can't see Zsinj letting you get away with that," she said with a slight smile.

"No, he wasn't about to give us everything we wanted for nothing, I was well aware of that. I just hoped that we could come up with something that wouldn't leave us as little more than his bullies. We'd all had our taste of being little more than thugs and murderers under Vader, and we had no desire to return to that status."

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the **_**Iron Fist**_

"Welcome, welcome," Zsinj said heartily as he greeted them with a warm smile that would have been more at home on someone's uncle rather than a warlord that controlled much of known space. It was the most unnerving thing about the man Garin decided, that all too pleasant smile on the face of someone he knew could order thousands dead without batting an eyelash. "I am very pleased that you were able to join me for dinner, I feared that you decline the invitation."

"How could we refuse?" Garin said with a cautious smile.

"Well we have much to discuss Commander; however you must introduce your stunning companions to me." Zsinj said, looking in particular at Daru; Garin knew how nervous she was, but for a change her experience as a bureaucratic consort served her well as she gave Zsinj a playful smile in return for his attention.

"This is Vic'que Sajuuk, one of my lieutenants and squadron leaders," Vic'que inclined her head in a slight bow, Garin turned to Sissir. "This is Sissir Yvonne, the leader of our special forces detail and security chief."

Zsinj beamed at Sissir chuckling as she shook his hand firmly, "yes, I've seen your work. Not just anyone can throw my Raptors around like that; I appreciate your tact as well, if you'd killed anyone it would have been unfortunate."

She smiled at the Warlord the way a cat would eye its prey. "I didn't want to cause more trouble than necessary; however I never let anyone take my weapon."

"A very wise policy, though troublesome in these situations I've found." Zsinj said with a nod before turning to Daru, taking her hand and kissing it, the very mark of a gentleman Garin thought with some mirth. "And who is this gem that you've brought with you Commander?"

"This is Daru Kerrila, our CDO and Chief Mechanic. She's responsible for our bomber platforms."

"Ah," Zsinj said, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "I had meant to ask you about that, I am very grateful that you decided to bring her with you, I consider myself somewhat of a mechanic as well you see and I couldn't help notice the skill with which those craft were assembled. I can tell that you and I will have much to talk about my dear."

Garin hadn't expect this, he'd expected Zsinj to be taken by Daru given her dress, but that he'd also take an interest in her because of her mechanical prowess; well it just meant more bargaining ability he hoped. Zsinj lead Daru to the long conference table and pulled out her chair for her before seating himself. Garin and the others took their seats; Sissir leaned over to Garin as he draped his cape over the back of his chair and seating himself.

"You'd better make this up to her, she might have experience with this sort of thing, but he's practically slobbering over her."

"That's the idea Sissir, just don't shoot anyone."

"I'll try, but if Vic'que starts punching people I'm going to feel left out."

The conversation ended as Zsinj turned his attention back to them, "now we have much to discuss I know, but there's no need to do so on an empty stomach." He clapped his hands and orderlies came into the conference room bearing platters of food. A second wave approached and laid out glasses and bottles of wine that would have made Toth faint with joy. Zsinj waited for the orderlies to leave again before he leaned forwards intently, raising his glass in a toast.

"Now, we can discuss this matter like civilized beings."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So you discussed the terms of your service over a meal. Sounds like a business meeting." Deana said scornfully.

I smiled and shrugged, "that's exactly what it was. We had something he wanted, he had something we wanted and both parties were going to bargain for the best deal they could get."

"Charming," she said with a frown.

Silently I wondered how much longer I'd have to discuss my past with her; I had to keep this going as long as possible though; certainly I had plenty of material to work with.

"What was eventually decided?"

"Oh nothing too special, we agreed to answer any call to arms he issued, he agreed to let us raid Isard's bacta operations in exchange for a fair cut on his part; though I admit that the watchdogs he gave us were a bit aggravating."

"He assigned someone to keep an eye on you?"

"One of his Raptor units yes, it certainly made the dinner conversation interesting."

*Yes, as funny as it might sound, part of the Imperial Navy's officer uniform was a full length cape. I've only seen this in use on rare occasions in the books and graphic novels, but it is only ever in appearance on officers. I assume that it is considered a bit excessive even by dress standard which is why it is seen so rarely.

Uniform colors for members of the Navy:

Grand Officer: White (Thrawn and Zsinj)

Flag Officer: Dark Gray (Iriana and Orlis)

Fleet Officer: Light Gray (Garin)

Fighter Officer: Black (Vic'que, Toth, Matrin, Kalan, Harth)

Technical Officer: Bluish Gray (Daru)

Petty Officer: Black

Special Forces: Slate Gray (Sissir)

Uniform Notes:

--As far as I know, Zsinj was never a grand admiral; he was only an admiral when the Emperor gave him command of _Iron Fist,_ however upon going rogue following the Empire's defeat at Endor he seems to have fashioned himself a grand admiral's uniform which he wore from then on.

--I'm not sure if Petty and Fighter officers have some kind of differentiating marker, however both seem to wear the same black uniforms.

--I have never seen the Special Forces uniform, however the Navy Special Forces do wear slate gray armor, so I assume their uniform is the same color.

-- Fleet Officers seem to be those officers who are both Fighter Command and Fleet Command (Biggs Darklighter and Hobbie Klivian both wore this uniform before their defection and were the first and second officers, respectively, of their ship in addition to being fighter pilots)

--I've noticed some variations in these uniform colors so nothing should be considered totally accurate or canon, I'm simply solidifying it for the sake of my story.


	32. Chapter 31

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the **_**Iron Fist**_

"So we are agreed then," Zsinj said with that same warm smile as he looked at Daru distractedly.

Garin nodded, "we'll answer to you and your people but operate independently otherwise, of course your Raptor unit will be with us at all times to provide you with accurate updates."

Zsinj's eyes looked over Daru quietly for a moment before he nodded, "that doesn't sit well with you I imagine."

"I'll take what I can Lord Zsinj."

Zsinj chuckled, "you could alleviate some of the watchdog routine for the right price," he toyed with the strap of Daru's dress thoughtfully; Garin didn't need to be a Jedi to know what the warlord was thinking.

"My people are not for sale sir, I'll take the watchdogs."

Zsinj sighed, leaving Daru alone for the time being, his smile cooling somewhat. "You are very dangerous Commander, you don't think like any proper Imperial which makes you unpredictable. I do not like unpredictable. However after watching Isard chase you all over the Mid and Outer Rims I cannot deny that you have your uses." Again his eyes lighted on Daru, by this time Sissir's teeth were grating loud enough for Garin to hear. No, this was not fair to Daru, but he'd already cast the die and there was little more to do than let it play out.

"I would be willing to alleviate the pressure I am placing on you in exchange for certain members of your unit, their services would be invaluable." Zsinj considered idly, his gaze fixated on Daru. Garin knew it wasn't just sexual attraction that drew Zsinj, Daru's prowess had already been exhibited with the fly by of the Diamond Blues and the stories that Garin had shared of her role in their various campaigns. It had been a miscalculation on his part and if he'd had any sense at all he'd never have let Daru anywhere near Zsinj; especially not in that dress. Despite the air of pleasantry she was giving off she had to be feeling very vulnerable and probably terrified; that he'd put her in this position was no comfort either.

Before he could respond to Zsinj's latest attempt to draw Daru away, Vic'que spoke up.

"We are not pieces of equipment to be bartered and traded sir, we operate very effectively together as we've demonstrated in the past. Taking away key personnel would strip Hades of any viability."

"Nonsense," Zsinj said, "the 181st has members in various posts of my fleet without any detriment to their overall abilities. Why should Hades be any different?"

Hearing that the 181st was here certainly had the effect Garin had expected it would on Vic'que, she clammed up and looked suddenly pensive. Garin wondered if that had been an intentional bombshell or just coincidental; Sissir came to her rescue.

"We will not part with any of our members, no matter how much freedom or pay you offer."

Garin took a lighter tone, "for the time being, we would like to keep our unit cohesion, irregardless of what other units in your forces are doing. Those are our terms; I'm willing to negotiate all other matters besides that."

Zsinj considered Garin for a long moment, his attention gratifyingly away from Daru for the time being as he focused on more the more pressing matter.

Finally the Warlord sighed, "very well Hades will not be partitioned for the time being; I'm giving you carte blanche in the case of Isard. My people will accompany as part of a combined task force under your command but they will report to me directly. If the need should arise, Hades will respond to any calls I issue and assemble with the rest of my forces." He leaned back in his chair, "is that acceptable?" From the expression on his face, Garin understood that it had better be, and to be fair, it was. He'd expected almost exactly what Zsinj had outlined with the exception of the watchdogs; but he could live with that.

"Yes Lord Zsinj, it is acceptable."

Zsinj's smile was no longer the warm and considerate uncle; it was the cold calculating politician. "Good, now let's finish our dinner before it gets cold."

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

"Your plan failed, miserably I might add." Vic'que said as they stepped off the ramp of the shuttle and onto the _Knight_'s hangar.

"I know, I underestimated him," Garin said, his voice betraying his annoyance with himself.

"What now," Sissir asked.

"We do what we're told until we have no need of Zsinj's protection; and then we do what we go back to what we did before."

"If Zsinj allows it," Sissir pointed out.

"I'm not going to ask him for permission, we'll move when we have the chance."

"I'm going to be in my cabin, I need to think something's over." Vic'que said, moving away from the remaining three.

"Vic'que," Garin called after her, "I don't think Maarek would join Zsinj, even if the 181st has. The man isn't the unit."

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked back at him with an expression he hadn't seen on her face before, pain, just pure and simple emotional pain. "You are Hades Wing, whether you'll admit it or not. This unit lives and breaths because you make it do so. A man can be a unit as easily as living and breathing, and if he is with Zsinj…."

She trailed off and shook her head, walking away quietly, Sissir crossed her arms and considered Vic'que's retreating back as she walked across the hangar. "She has a point you know."

"What, that we should join Zsinj because the 181st _might _have," Garin asked skeptically.

"No, that you are what has allowed this unit to live beyond the Empire it was built to serve. Without you it would all fall apart."

"I think you put too much value on my ability to lead."

She shrugged, "I lead men into combat too you know, I've seen what it takes to make a good leader and how important that leader can be to a unit. If Hades loses you, it will shatter."

Garin didn't say anything, turning to Daru who was strangely quiet and separate, she'd been that way since leaving the _Iron Fist._ He reached out a hand for her but she drew away rapidly as soon as she realized he was moving.

"Don't," she whispered.

He frowned, "Daru?"

She shook her head violently, covering her ears and clenching her eyes shut, "don't, you made me do it again; I never wanted to be that kind of person again!"

Her voice was growing hysterical and again he tried to reach for her but she practically leapt out of his reach, "don' touch me!" She screamed, causing both Garin and Sissir to jump back in surprise.

After a moments pause Sissir approached her, putting her arms around the quivering woman's shoulders gently. "I'll take her to her quarters sir."

Garin nodded wordlessly, his face awash with confusion and worry; what had he just done to her and could he repair it?

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"What happened to her?" Deanna asked, her own frown mirroring the expression I had worn when the event had happened.

"I asked too much of her without considering what it would do to her." I said with a sigh, in the back of my mind I wondered if I'd be spared the inconvenience of revisiting this aspect of my relationship with Daru. Then again, I had volunteered the information, accidentally of course but it was out now.

"I don't understand," Deanna said.

"I didn't either, I never realized just how…fragile, she was in regards to her role as a consort prior to Thrawn's rescue from that life. If I'd had any sense at all I would have asked to make sure it wouldn't hurt her unduly to play the role once more for Zsinj. Instead I just told her to do it with no regards for her feelings."

"But you fixed things between the two of you yes?"

"Lieutenant, may I ask you a question?"

She hesitated, but nodded finally, I smiled quietly as I gazed at her.

"Has anyone ever asked you to do something that went against everything you were, or forced you to relive a past trauma?"

She shook her head instantly, again my smile played across my face.

"I did both to Daru on one blow, and I lost her because of that. It's that simple."

"But you both, you loved one another didn't you?" She sounded almost despondent and I was reminded of how fans of a holosoap reacted when their favorite couples broke up in the show.

I shook my head sadly, "it didn't matter, I betrayed her faith and trust in me. Whatever we had, ended on the hangar deck when Major Yvonne took her to her cabin."

"But you didn't just leave it at that did you?" Again she sounded as if she expected some kind of fairytale happy ending.

"No, I didn't. I readied for the next stage of life that Hades was undertaking."

Her face fell and I smiled cruelly, no, that hadn't been the answer she'd expected, perhaps though it would get her back onto more important subject matter.

"Did you begin conducting your operations against Isard then?"

I nodded, "we were joined by Zsinj's watchdogs shortly after our meeting with him."

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight **_

"What is that?" Toth asked eying the squat Star Destroyer sitting off the starboard aft of the _Knight. _

"Our watchdogs," Harth replied, Garin couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement he was making.

"It's called a Gladiator-class Star Destroyer," Iriana supplied, "it's essentially a heavy escort for larger, slower warships; in practice it was operated more like a heavy cruiser though."

"Looks more like a mid-sized cruiser to me," Matrin muttered, "they expect that to watch us?"

"The class was originally intended to provide support to the Victory line of Star Destroyers, but when the Imperial and its derivatives took center stage the Gladiator had to be re-imagined into something more utilitarian. They were usually used on out of the way posts where larger warships were not cost effective to maintain."

"So we've been assigned a pint sized Star Destroyer that the _Knight _could blow into space dust." Kalan said in response to Iriana's statement. "I can see they think we're a threat."

"Don't take it too lightly," she said with a smile, "they're tough little ships and they carry heavier weapons than we do, though we carry more of ours and are better shielded thanks to that plating."

"Have they hailed us yet," Garin asked.

"Nothing yet, so far they've been sitting there just aft of us."

"Just me," Toth said, "or are they less than eager to get to know us."

"Actually," Commander Kindran said, joining the conversation, "they've been trying to hack us."

"Say what now?" Toth said, his voice growing interested.

"Yes," Kindran said, eying his datapad laconically. "They've attempted seventeen different attack patterns on our networks in the last thirty-three minutes. Our assault barriers have defeated each one and in the last three attempts I had the techs send back our own attack viruses, since the last virus was sent they've ceased their attempts. That was eight minutes ago."

"So they learned their lesson?"

"Actually," Kindran said with an uncharacteristically dark tone, "I think they have to reconfigure their entire system at this point."

Iriana smiled, "do I detect pride? Were those viruses another of your creations?"

Kindran merely shrugged, "we all have our skill sets."

"Ma'am," the comms officer called. "They're transmitting."

"Thank you please put it up on the main holo display."

The holo image that appeared was fuzzy but the man in it wasn't. In fact he looked the very model of an academy graduate, shaved head and all.

"Having technical problems Captain?" Iriana asked pleasantly, Garin had to hide a smile at her tone, politely innocent didn't suit her.

The Captain glared at her, "you know damned well what happened to my ship you trash."

She blinked innocently, "I have no idea what you're talking about. We detected infiltration software in our network and acted appropriately. I'm sure they've learned their lesson by now."

"I see," he ground out through gritted teeth, "are you the commander of Hades?"

"No, I'm afraid that honor goes to Lieutenant Commander Durives, sir?"

Garin stepped forward and into the display's field of vision, "greetings Captain, we'll be working together from this point forward it would seem."

"Don't get cute with me Durives, you're nothing but slag in my book. Zsinj wants my _Severance _to keep an eye on you and make sure you carry out your end of the deal."

"Have no fear Captain, I fully intend to oblige Hades' portion of the agreement we made with the Warlord. Do you have the information we requested?"

"If your slimed systems haven't erased it, then yes we do."

"Transfer it at your earliest convenience and we'll get underway then, how long do you think until your vessel is able to operate again?"

"Half an hour GST provided you don't send anymore of your tricks at us," the Captain said with a scowl.

"Good, and lets make something very clear Captain…I don't believe I have your name?"

"Freille, Captain Freille."

Garin smiled as nicely as he could, which hopefully drove home just how much he meant what he said next.

"Hades is in an alliance with Zsinj but we are not Zsinj's people. You may be members of Zsinj's Raptor elites, but we were Palpatine's elites. Think about the degree of skill that implies before you attempt to try us again. You'll save on ship maintenance costs."

Captain Freille swallowed noticeably, "yes, I'll keep it in mind for our future operations. Select your first targets and send your choices to me, I will confirm with the Warlord before we act. My Urizel and Urizen squadrons will assist you in any operations you undertake."

The com line went dead and the holo display flickered out of existence, there was a drawn silence before Kalan and Matrin burst out laughing, their mirth was shared by the others by way of satisfied smiles.

"Did you see his expression when you mentioned Palpatine? He went white! I don't think he realized fully what he was up against."

Kalan joined in on Matrin's crowing, "I guess after all these years people are forgetting what it means to be the best the Empire has to offer."

"Considering what the Empire has to offer up anymore I'm not surprised," Harth said quietly, eying Garin thoughtfully; "'Palpatine's elites'?"

"It sounded more intimidating, not enough people know about Thrawn." Garin said with a shrug.

"Indeed, it certainly had that effect on our would be bailiff."

Amidst all the mirth, Toth nudged Garin and motioned towards the doors leading from the bridge. Garin followed him, of course everyone noticed but no one said anything at all, they just continued about their business whether it was making nerfs out of the men Zsinj had sent against them or their actual jobs.

When they were out in the hall, Toth turned to Garin, his expression worried. "Sissir has been speaking with Daru."

Garin winced, "not right now Toth."

"No, right now is as good a time as any."

Garin sighed and nodded, "alright, what is it?"

"She's breaking Gar, she feels worthless."

"Has Sissir done anything about it?"

Toth scowled, "she's trying but you're the reason she's like this and you know it. Not only are you responsible personally, but you're her commanding officer, you've got to do something before she shatters and we lose her entirely."

"Why is it my job," Garin said, his voice annoyingly haughty. "She left me remember?"

"Because, again, you're her commanding officer, and also because you both still love each other."

Garin's eye twitched, "I don't need a drunk telling me about my emotional orientations."

Toth's face hardened and Garin instantly regretted what he'd said, "fine sir, do what you want but I'm telling you that either you fix what you broke like you're supposed to, or continue to ignore it and risk degrading the unit."

"Toth I—"

"Not now sir, we're busy right?" Toth said, turning and walking down the hallway, Garin swore under his breath. Why did it feel like he was losing control of his world?

Author's Note: And Hades Wing is back in all their unconventional usualness. Sorry for the extended bout of writer's block, I just got a wallop in the head today for my writer's block from one of my mentors and that seemed to be what I needed to get myself back on track. Hope everyone's doing well and enjoying the story.


	33. Chapter 32

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

Garin's Defender settled into its berthing grappler with a satisfying clang as the clasps closed around the fighter's pylons. He removed his helmet, stretching stiffly, he was used to short flights, and an eight hour lay away on a trade lane wasn't his idea of a short operation. It had to be done though; they only had the trade lanes that the bacta shipments were using, not their exact times. Isard was being appropriately paranoid about those and not releasing them to anyone who didn't expressly need to know. He opened the hatch and climbed out of his ship and onto the gangway; other Shadow's passed him as they headed towards the pilot lockers, inclining their head in what passed for saluting. He watched each of them carefully as they passed, watching for signs of weariness or discomfort. This was their third run against what amounted to helpless civilians, and he wasn't blind enough to think that it wouldn't sit ill on his people. Especially with the Hutt spawned Raptors in tow.

They were merciless even against helpless civilians, he'd made it a protocol now for Hades to stand to between the Raptors and the disabled transports to ensure they didn't wholesale slaughter them. So far Freille and his pilots hadn't been willing to cross Hades, but he knew that the captain was hardly pleased that his would be allies were preventing him from an easy kill.

"Ship handling alright sir?"

His mind snapped to, and he looked up to find one of Daru's mechanics standing in front of him, "sorry to startle you sir," he apologized quickly. "I just thought that you might be having problems since you were just standing there."

Garin shook his head, patting the Arkanian, yet another non-human he mused with a smile, on the shoulder as he passed. "No Adras, nothing wrong, just thoughtful."

He stopped suddenly, turning to look at the tech for a long moment as he began running his diagnostics on the line of Defenders.

"Adras, how are you?"

Adras looked up from his datapad, his pale eyes reflecting his confusion; "sir?"

"How are you holding up," Garin elaborated.

Garin had to admit, the poor man looked like he'd been caught raiding the pantry, "I—that is—well," he frowned, looking at Garin worriedly; "permission to speak freely sir?"

Garin nodded, already regretting asking the question but he'd asked and he did want to know.

"A lot of us are nervous sir; Chief Kerrila has been acting a bit weird lately. She doesn't get as animated working on the ships like she used to." He looked around, as if afraid that they might be overheard, but considering that he was the only tech here, and aside from Garin, all the other pilots had gone ahead to debriefing, where he needed to be actually, but this was more important.

"She's been talking to the ships sir, its weird but there you have it, and a lot of times she just starts crying, not sobbing mind you, just tears. We've tried cheering her up, the entire team has, but nothing really seems to be working."

Garin nodded, feeling his chest seize up as he tried to keep the worry from his face. Ardas had to know why Daru was acting like this, the entire damned crew knew about their relationship and probably knew about it ending too. He was just avoiding stepping on too many toes, Garin sighed heavily, and now of course Toth wasn't giving him anymore than a 'yes sir' whenever they interacted. The others were still in one piece, well no, Vic'que was weirder than usual, ever since hearing about the 181st being with Zsinj. Garin had something on that, which he hoped to get out of the way during this debriefing.

He looked at Ardas for a long time before breaking the uncomfortable silence, "keep an eye on the Chief, and don't feel like you can't tell me if something doesn't sit right."

Ardas bit his lip nervously, "we all trust you sir."

Garin snorted and smiled, "someone has to," he murmured as he turned to head towards the lockers and the debriefing beyond.

"There you are we've been waiting sir."

Commander Kindran's calm, authoritative tone set Garin back to his cadet days and he nodded by way of apology to the Commander and his pilots.

"I had something to take care of on my fighter."

"Of course sir," Kindran said as Garin came to stand besides him, "let me begin with the most obvious piece of intelligence, the unknown X-wings that we encountered on our second sortie."

"The great mystery, solved," Matrin said with a smile.

"I'm sure it was quite arduous for you sir," piped up Kalan.

Kindran eyed them for a moment before turning to Harth, "Captain if you wouldn't mind?"

Harth just nodded, reaching forwards, both Kalan and Matrin tried to scurry out of the larger man's reach but he grabbed the collars of their jumpsuits and knocked their heads together with, in Garin's appraisal, a very satisfying clunk.

Kindran nodded approval, "thank you. As I was saying, the unknown X-wings that we encountered previously were obviously not Republic in origin given their unusual markings," the holodisplay flashed images of the fighters in question, colored in an assortment of odd patterns and designs, no two alike. "We have however discovered exactly what they are, or rather who."

"And," Vic'que prompted, her tone hardly respectful.

"They are Rogue Squadron, or rather, _were _Rogue Squadron."

"'Were,'" Toth echoed, "as in no longer are?"

Kindran nodded, "precisely, apparently, after the fall of Coruscant and Isard's subsequent escape there was a falling out between Rogue Squadron and Republic Command over how to deal with her. As a result, the former members of Rogue Squadron have—somewhat poetically—gone rogue in order to pursue Isard."

There was a long pause, all four Hades squadrons, Shadow, Diamond, Wyvern, and Mantis were completely silent, and then everyone burst out into gales of laughter, even Vic'que and Harth were smiling.

"The Rogues are rogue," various individuals called out in various permutations, the laughter continued as more jokes and cracks were made, Garin looked over at Kindran with a shrug that said,'what can you do?' Kindran nodded agreement, and Garin caught the look of amusement in the older man's eye; even he saw the humor in the irony of Rogue Squadron's rebellion against their own side. In an odd way, it mirrored what Hades was doing, or had done until now, and Garin had to admit he admired the Rogue's tenacity in pursuing Isard. It explained in some part why Hades had received no attention; despite several attempts when she was still instated on Coruscant. If he'd had the Rogue's after him he'd have been pretty occupied too; it would be an interesting contest to see which was better since apparently the Rogues were at least as good as the 181st. Then again, Hades had bested members of that infamous unit in the past, so perhaps the Rogues weren't all that bad after all; they had run when they'd seen Hades and the Raptors in and around the convoy rather than stay and fight.

The laughter finally died down with a scattering of chuckling as Kindran cleared his throat, calling for attention once again, "yes, I'm sure Rogue Squadron realized the irony themselves. However now that we know they are operating against Isard as well it makes our situation somewhat, delicate shall we say. As everyone is aware, we joined Zsinj on the assumption that Isard would use her newfound mobility to pursue those who stood against her. We assumed we would be a prime target given our continued defiance during her tenure as de facto Empress;" here Kindran glanced at Garin, who nodded quietly, yes this needed to come out now considering the stress this situation was putting on the unit.

"Since this assumption has proven to be false, we are left in a situation where Zsinj is no longer vital to our survival and in fact may actually be a detriment to it," he took a breath, "I will leave the rest for the Lieutenant-Commander."

Garin stepped forwards, taking center stage, yes, he'd discussed this with both Iriana and Orlis, but that didn't make this any easier now that his people were staring at him curiously; he took a deep breath and took the plunge.

"First," here he looked at Toth; his longtime friend was eyeing him suspiciously, an expression he'd worn more and more in the recent weeks. "How many of you are disgruntled by what Hades has become."

There was dead silence, no one moved a muscle, not even Kalan and Matrin, usually so animate; now they were stone still. He'd expected this reaction, what Adras had said to him was broadly true of most of the unit, they all trusted him and here he was calling their scrutiny upon himself voluntarily; if their places had been reversed he was certain he'd feel just as uncomfortable.

"As Orlis just stated, we went to Zsinj as insurance against Isard, but she has backed herself into yet another corner and we're left raiding civilian targets for little purpose. I admit that it does hurt Isard, but considering that she seems intent on making her own cage rather than using the freedom she's given herself I see little reason to continue as we've been doing. So I want to know now, how many of you think what we're doing under Zsinj is wrong?"

Glances were exchanged as the silence dragged on, finally a group of pilots stood up, slowly others joined them, until finally everyone, even his friends, were standing in agreement.

Garin nodded, "alright, then we've got two things to do. First break away from Zsinj and his watchdogs, second determine what to do once that is accomplished. Thankfully, Zsinj, like Isard is too engaged with other matters to hunt us down. So long as we stay clear of his space there shouldn't be an issue." There was one more thing, and he might as well, he hadn't told this part of Orlis or Iriana. "Given what my planning has gotten us into, I believe it is in the unit's best interest if I step down," there was immediate uproar, even Toth was shouting disapproval; Garin had to bite his lip to keep from doing anything embarrassing.

He raised a hand for silence and it was given after a moment. "Hear me out, I've made a very bad call and if it had been in a different situation I could have gotten all of us killed, so I am asking, and I will be sending a mail to all crewmembers so don't think this request is limited to you, for all officers opinions on my command. If the overall opinion is one of disapproval then I will turn command of the unit over to Captains Arusi and Chapella."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Wait, you volunteered your resignation because you made a mistake?"

Deana's voice sounded more than a little shocked, "yes," I said tacitly with a shrug. "I felt responsible, so I opted to stand down from command should the unit call for it."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you, of all people, could so easily walk away from a position like that."

I snorted, was it that unusual? I'd have liked to entertain the notion that any decent commander would make the same decision but that might have been wishful thinking, regardless I had made the choice.

"But they didn't call your bluff I take it."

"Bluff," I asked incredulously, leaning forwards. "It wasn't a bluff; I fully intended to leave Hades if my command was no longer sufficient to keep my people alive."

"But you didn't," she persisted, probing the topic further; "after all you were still in command in this last battle."

I smiled at her coyly, "here is what happened….."

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

Garin sat at his terminal eyeing the report summary, as it stood; most of the unit was still behind him. Somewhat to his annoyance most of the officers were too, there were some that wondered what they were doing and in turn questioned his command abilities. Considering the doubts he was having about himself, he couldn't say that he blamed them.

His door chimed, "enter," he called without looking up.

"The report finished, you're still in command."

Garin looked over at Vic'que, "so it would seem. I'm not entirely sure if I like that outcome."

She smiled at him coyly as she approached, trailing her finger over the back of his chair before taking a seat in the second chair he kept in his quarters.

"Are you going to edit the results?"

"I might," he said after a moment, "even if I don't, I may still resign my post."

"You'd run away from the war," she said plainly, even though she said it tonelessly, there was the trace of accusation in her voice.

"I ran away from the war the day I decided to go rogue Vic'que. I've just been denying that this entire time."

She pushed his chair around with her boot, turning him towards her; "Thrawn didn't enlist a defeatist."

"Thrawn enlisted a boy he thought showed promise, it's been dumb luck so far for us."

Her eyes narrowed and very suddenly she was on top of him, pressing her lips and hips against his. Garin's eyes widened as she slid her arms around him, forcing her tongue past his teeth; images of Daru burst into his head and he gripped Vic'que's shoulders, shoving her off and back into her chair.

"What are you doing," he spat. Looking at her as if she'd sprouted another head.

"Since we both seem to be suffering the same ailment," she said, drawing her hair out of her eyes, her blue gaze burning into his face. "I thought that perhaps you could use a reminder of what you're pining for."

Garin felt violated as he stood up, looming over Vic'que as she smiled up at him triumphantly, "don't ever do that again."

"Why," she asked. "You've all but abandoned your precious tail head, the poor little girl* spends most of her time in the hangar deck wondering what to do with herself. I'm surprised she hasn't thrown herself under an engine block or power coupling."

"Just shut up and get out," he growled.

"Not until you stop acting like me, and start acting like yourself." He scowled at her as she continued, "I'm the one who fell in love with someone who cares nothing for me, and I have every right to be saddened by that fact; especially since he might very well be serving the man you seem set to betray. You fell for someone that cares so deeply for you that she's losing her mind because she thinks you see her as little more than a tool. Believe me when I say that I know how she feels, and even if I do not particularly like her, I refuse to see someone else in my situation."

Garin sat back down in his chair, "what do you expect me to do?"

"Be what you've always been, the heart of this unit. When I said you keep this force alive I was not being facetious. I meant it, one of the few compliments I've ever given you I, so take it while I still believe it."

"Vic'que, what are you really doing here," Garin asked, leaning back in his chair and looking at her, feeling very tired suddenly.

"I'm here to remind you what you chose to create with this unit, you stood besides some of the most dangerous men in the galaxy and survived. You managed to keep your doubts a secret from them and do the jobs they set you; no matter how repulsed you were by those orders. All so you could keep this unit, this family alive and now you're letting yourself destroy it. Stop being this weakling and be the man I hate and respect, sir."

"You have got to be the most backwards minded woman I know," Garin said with a snort, eying her smiling features.

There was another chime at his door, "enter," and Sissir entered, she cast a cool gaze at Vic'que who eyed her indifferently.

"Sir we've got a problem," she said, ignoring Vic'que entirely.

Garin stood and turned to her, "did our watchdogs get over zealous with the bacta distribution again?"

She shook her head, "its Daru. She's barricaded herself on the flight deck."

Vic'que let out a long, exasperated sigh. "What has she done now?"

"And you haven't done anything, why," Garin asked, his voice growing very cold as he stood up.

Sissir starred back at him blandly as she answered, "because sir, she's locked down the entire hangar, we can't even get in via maintenance."

Garin scowled and shook his head, a part of him despairing even as he pushed out into the hallway; this was what he got for letting things sit, Toth, and now Vic'que were both right on that count. He just hoped that he hadn't let things get to the point of no return; the unit was in bad enough shape as it was.


	34. Chapter 33

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

"Are you sure about this," Harth asked as he handed Garin the vacsuit helmet.

"I'm open to suggestions," Garin said fitting the helmet and switching over to comlink.

"Kindran should have a route in a few hours, then he can get past her locks and we can go in and take her down."

Garin paused, turning to look at Harth dubiously, "two things: first, she isn't an enemy to be eliminated; second, we don't have the time to spare for Orlis though I don't doubt he and the techs are working to override the hard lines as we speak."

"She's locked down our ability to fight," Harth said with a stern face, "that sounds like an enemy to me."

"And to think, if anything happens to me the unit is in your hands," Garin said with a shake of his head as he fitted the booster harness to his back. "I'm showing green."

Harth patted his back, "all green."

"Clea—"

"Hang on Gar," Garin turned to find Toth standing next to Sissir.

"If you're going to tell me I deserve this save it Toth, I know I've karked this thing into the Unknown Regions."

"That's not what I'm here for; I just wanted to wish you good luck. Get our Chief back."

Garin paused and sighed. "My terminal password is Diamond Blue. If I get myself killed you'll need access to it."

"You won't sir," Sissir said simply. "You've got a lot to make up for."

Garin didn't say anything to that, "clear."

"Clear," Harth echoed, closing the airlock to the hatch.

The booster pack was essentially a miniaturized engine; he keyed the control stick and jetted out into the space around the _Knight_ rotating until he was even with her deck before he fired the engines again and turned to face the hangar bay. Daru was on the primary flight deck where the wing's fighters were berthed, a human—even one wearing a vacsuit—would have a hard time going through the MAGCON* field that kept the hangar's atmosphere and pressure stable but that was about the only way in at this point. Unless he wanted to call it quits and wait for Orlis to find a way past the locks Daru had activated. He'd have to ask her just how she'd figured out how to lock down the entire hangar and its flight decks. He hadn't realized it was doable from anywhere but engineering or the bridge.

"Sir I have you on external cams," came Sissir's voice.

"Good to know I have an audience," he responded with equal dryness as he positioned himself in front of the MAGCON field and hit his thrusters. "How are our friends across the way?"

"The _Severance _is maintaining position; our hull is currently shielding your activity from them."

"Good, last thing we need is for them to think there's something wrong," Garin didn't want to think what the rather gung-ho Freille would do if he thought Hades was vulnerable. Zsinj's watchdog had never really forgiven Hades for hacking his ships command routines to pieces and took whatever chance he could to cause trouble. Garin reached the MAGCON and propelled himself through, he immediately felt his weight shift as the heavy gravity in the field grabbed and slowed him. He licked his lips nervously, hoping that his suite would hold if it was breached he'd be in big trouble. The tense seconds of slowly drifting through the meter thick field felt like an eternity as his suit adjusted its pressure settings to compensate for the forces acting on it. Then he was through and under normal gravity again, his boots hit the deck with a jarring impact that jarred his teeth.

"I'm in, anything you can tell me?"

"No sir," now it was Kindran's voice instead of Sissir. "The Chief has done an excellent job of locking us out of all that area's systems."

Garin removed the helmet and heavy boosters, "copy, guess I'm alone then."

"Good luck sir."

Garin made his way towards the berthings for the fighters; he had no idea where Daru would be, but if he was going to start looking somewhere, that seemed like a good place. He looked around at the Defenders, Avengers, Star Wings, and Diamond Blues quietly wondering what Daru had been thinking when she'd pulled this stunt. Was she just so far gone that she'd thought she had nothing other than the fighters for comfort? Considering how much love she'd put into their maintenance before all this, that wouldn't surprise him much. Hell, the DBs were her brainchildren. He passed the ships that had been laid out on the deck for maintenance and frowned. There would have been several dozen crew members her doing routine work. Where had they scurried off to? He sincerely doubted, it was more of a hope, that Daru wouldn't hurt anyone other than herself. In all the rush to get here, he hadn't asked about the deck crews that must have been working throughout the hangar and its flight decks.

He looked up above him at the fighters sitting in their cradles, moving over to a utility lift, riding it up to the row of Defenders and walking along them quietly, he was going to search the entire kriffed hangar if he had to, but he was hoping that Daru was going to make this easy on him as he reached his fighter and sighed heavily at what he saw inside. Daru was curled up in a fetal position in his seat, her eyes clamped shut, her arms and legs tucked beneath her body. He climbed up the ladder to the open hatch, carefully letting himself onto the seat. Her eyes shot open and she backed away, slamming against the transparasteel screen behind her.

"Get away," she cried.

He didn't make any abrupt movements, smiling as best he could. "It's okay Daru, no one is going to hurt you."

She winced at his tone, closing her eyes, her hands clutching her head. "You aren't Garin, he wouldn't do this he wouldn't use me like that."

"I know he wouldn't," Garin said gently, she was practically hysterical, "I know he didn't mean to hurt you. It was all an accident and entirely his fault. He didn't take your feelings into account."

"I love him," she whispered sounding like a little child.

"He knows, and he loves you too."

Slowly, he reached out a hand for her, palm upwards; her eyes flicked open and she shrank from the hand.

"No, please don't hurt me, not again."

"I'm not going to hurt you; I'm going to get all of us out of here. Remember the shuttle?"

She nodded recalling the memory with a hesitant smile as he continued, "this is just like the shuttle, trust me, and we'll get everyone out safely. Everyone is worried about you Chief; they want to know you're safe."

He touched her, at first she didn't do anything, but then she jumped at him with an anguished cry, tears pouring from her eyes as she tried to scramble past him and out of the hatch. Out of desperation he grabbed for the nearest hold he could get on her, a braintail. She let out another shriek as his grip locked on and she went limp, falling into his arms.

He tapped his com, "I've got her."

"Do you see a datapad on her," Kindran asked.

He leaned Daru back against the chair and searched her jumpsuit, finding a datapad in her thigh pocket.

"Got it, any ideas?"

"I'll walk you through it sir, I should be able to undue what she's done."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"What did you do to her?"

I shrugged, "Twi'lek's braintails are very sensitive. I learned that during our relationship, I didn't even mean to grab hers they just happened to be in my reach."

"Again, what did you do to her; I don't see how your grip made her pass out."

"Grabbing the tail like I did was a sensory overload, they're that sensitive, and she passed out from the shock."

Deana nodded, "so your crew had voted to keep you as its commander, you'd gotten your hangar back, what about your Chief?"

"She was comatose for several hours; we didn't wait for her to wake up though. Everyone wanted to leave Zsinj's employ as quickly as possible. So we made ready and prepared for a jump to hyperspace."

She looked at my expression, her eyes narrowing. "Something went wrong."

"Doesn't it always?"

"The _Severance _and Freille," she said decisively.

"For a change, we weren't as good as we thought we were…."

**Approximately two years earlier, Mid Rim Territories, aboard the cruiser **_**Black Knight**_

Garin looked around the bridge; everyone had the same expression, what had just happened?

Kindran looked up sharply, "our engines are offline, sublight and hyperdrive. Engineering is trying to get it working now, but they don't know what the problem is yet."

Iriana opened her mouth, then paused as the communications board lit up, Captain Freille's smiling face appeared in the bridge.

"Going somewhere Commander?"

Garin smiled, "the thought had occurred to me."

Freille's eyes narrowed, though his smile remained, "that would be impossible. Since I now have control of your engines."

Iriana ground her teeth, "what did you do to my ship?"

"After our first meeting, I sent a request to Warlord Zsinj for some technical assistance, and while his technicians were not able to break into your mainframe, I'm afraid your engineering systems aren't nearly as well protected. I took the liberty of planting a new control circuit in your engine routines, now if you'll excuse me, I'll be over there shortly to take command and see to your confinement."

Freille's voice was smug as he signed off, Garin scowled, "we've just been hijacked by raw sewage;" he turned to Iriana, "are our weapons still functional?"

She did a quick check from her chair, and then nodded, "yes, he wasn't kidding about our mainframe being well protected."

"Give that slime something to think about, I'm taking our fighters out."

"Orders sir," Kindran asked quietly.

"Figure out what you need to do to fix this, and then fix it, once that's done jump. The fighters will follow the beacon."

"You realize, that we just got taken by a bunch of academy rejects right?"

"Can it Kalan," Harth chided.

"No seriously, we didn't think they could hurt us, and now look where we landed!"

"We get the point," Matrin said, "we got cocky; now let's finish this before they call for help!"

"How's Daru doing," Toth asked over a closed channel.

"She's still unconscious; I shouldn't have grabbed her like that," Garin said quietly.

"No," Toth said, his voice firm. "You shouldn't have let this stew so long; you had to realize how fragile she could be."

"Toth, she's a twi'lek female who served in the Imperial Fleet, how weak do you think she is?"

"She's still frail in her own way Gar. Hasn't she told you about some of the things that those bureaucratic scums did to her before?"

"Nothing, I didn't want to press her either." Garin frowned, "how do you know anything about it?"

"I'm sleeping with her shrink remember?"

"Sissir," Garin said with a snort.

"No, Darth Vader."

"Okay fine, things; like what?"

Before Toth could elaborate, flight control signaled and the fighters dropped from the flight chutes and exited into space, Kindran's voice came over the com.

"All fighters are to engage the _Severance's _fighter screen, they have two reinforced squadrons of TIE Raptors they shouldn't prove too troublesome. Our Skiprays will screen Rapier element as they attempt to board and disable the _Severance_ while the _Knight _attempts repairs."

"Copy that control," Garin called out, swinging his Defender below the firing line of the _Severance _and _Knight._

"Stang, the Captain wasn't kidding when she said the Gladiators were tough little ships."

Garin checked on Matrin's assertion and was surprised to see that the _Severance_, despite its smaller size was slugging it out with the _Black Knight _and moving around with relative ease under the heavy cruiser's attacks.

"This is Rapier, we're in space and heading for the _Severance_, our escorts are in attendance."

"Copy that Rapier, Shadow Lead moving to support."

Garin and his wingmen broke from their engagement and formed up on the assault shuttles and their Skipray escorts. Both craft types fired viciously from their turrets as they fended off the attention of the agile TIE Raptors. From what Garin could see, the Raptors, while not as powerful as his fighters, were very fast and small to boot with comparable armaments to an X-wing. It wasn't a pleasant combination.

"Incoming, Rapiers break," Garin wasn't sure who called out the warning but he broke, triggering chaff and flare charges as he rolled and hit his thrusters a shockwave hit his fighter a moment later, his inertial dampeners absorbed the impact but he felt it nonetheless.

"We just lost Rapier Two where did that come from?"

"All units be advised, the _Severance _has missile armament and is firing."

"Golem Three you've got a missile, missile!"

Garin filtered through the chorus of shouts and keyed Harth's com.

"Harth, knock out those launchers now before they get another shuttle."

"Already on it sir, Matrin and Kalan are leading their flights."

Garin nodded grimly as he reformed with the remaining two shuttles and the five Skiprays, they'd just lost forty-five good people; if they took Freille alive he was going to regret it.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Forty-five in one shuttle," Deana said disbelievingly.

"Forty commandoes, and the crew of five," I responded quietly still wincing at the loss. "That one pack of Zsinj fanatics did more damage to us than all those years of taking on petty warlords in one engagement. We lost seventeen more people in the space fight and another twenty-three when one of the Raptor pilots rammed the _Knight's _hangar. When the commandos landed aboard the _Severance _we lost seven more commandos. It was one of our bloodier days."

"Did you take the _Severance_?"

"Oh we took her, Freille shot himself rather than let us have the honor, so did most of the officers. Diehard fanatics seem good at that." I leaned back and smiled coldly, "I think that was the biggest disappointment of the day."

"What did you do with the rest of the crew?"

"Most of the fighters ran after our remaining shuttles landed on the _Severance's _flight deck and Major Yvonne began taking the ship."

"And the crew," she persisted.

I shrugged; did she expect us to go on a slaughter because of our losses? We were hurt and angry, not to mention desperate to escape, but we weren't butchers.

"We took all the supplies and ordnance we'd need from them, spare parts, the bacta we'd been raiding, food, that sort of thing; and then sent a distress signal before setting them adrift. Beyond that I don't know or care what happened to them."

"Your unit vanished after that, Zsinj has no further reports on you, and when we took the _Lusankya _Isard didn't seem to have anything more on your movements either."

"That's because we disbanded shortly after breaking from Zsinj," I said deadpan.

She looked up from her datapad, her expression startled, "you disbanded the unit?"

*MAGCON—MAGnetic CONtainment field: I've seen this acronym spelled differently, with and without capitals in various Star Wars sources, I'm just doing this the way most militaries would do it to keep things simple.


	35. Chapter 34

**Approximately 18 months earlier, deep space, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_

"Disband? Are you out of your mind?"

Garin held up his hand before anyone could complain further, "we're running out of targets and more importantly places to hide and resupply. Isard is gone, Zsinj is either dead or hiding*, the Remnant is in shambles, and the Republic controls most major systems. The only ones that remain are warlords like Krennel who we cannot take on, the random criminal conglomerate and unaffiliated systems just trying to stay unnoticed until things settle down. I don't trust the Remnant or the Republic, and none of us want to repeat our performance of a few months ago with another Zsinj."

There was quiet for a long time, the entire unit was assembled in the hangar, all of the officers were already aware of Garin's intent, he was just breaking it to the rest of the crew. As he looked at his people he met Daru's gaze, she'd recovered remarkably well; he wasn't sure if it was the trauma from the yank he'd given her lekku, or if her distress had simply run its course. In any case, she was back to her old self, accepting their relationship. They'd both been avoiding each other since leaving Zsinj's employment, what he saw in her gaze now was a quiet sorrow. For her, and others, Hades had been a home, not away from home, but home. Garin himself certainly didn't have any home other than the _Knight_, though once the unit disbanded he'd return to Coruscant and find his sister and cousins again provided they hadn't moved. He had no idea what the others were going to do though, especially those like Daru who truly had no where to go.

"Sir, if you don't mind I have something to say as well."

Iriana took the stand as Garin stepped aside with a nod, watching her quietly and bracing for what was coming.

"The Lieutenant-Commander is disbanding the unit; however I will not relinquish this ship to that fate. I intend to maintain the _Black Knight _and her equipment until we find a new role to play. Those that wish to stand down will be given passage to the nearest neutral station or planet you all have access to your pay, you are free to do as you choose. For those that stay aboard, I will be eternally grateful for your assistance in maintaining the _Knight_ she's been good to us, she deserves better than scuttling."

Iriana stood back and let Garin take over once again as the murmuring that had begun when Iriana first spoke built further, he wanted to end this quickly.

"Those of you that might consider rejoining will be issued an email** address which you may use to contact the _Knight _should you desire to return to service. Those issued will in turn be contacted if the unit reforms in totality." He found Daru looking at him again and quickly looked back across the rest of the crew. "This is the end of our fight ladies and gentlemen; I wish you the best of luck in your new lives."

"So what are you going to do when you leave," Matrin asked quietly, nursing his drink in an unusually quiet manner.

Toth leaned back and smiled wistfully, "I think I'm going home to Chandrilla, start a vineyard or brewery; something like that, why pay for it when I can grow it and make it myself."

Kalan snorted, "you're a drunk to the bitter end."

Toth's smile turned cheery, "and your jokes are terrible, no one's perfect."

"Hey, my jokes aren't terrible; they're just in bad taste."

Sissir leaned over Toth's shoulder, kissing him softly and touching her glass to his, "don't think you're losing me that easily. You'll need someone to make sure everything runs smoothly."

Toth smirked and threw up his hands, "no faith, no faith at all."

Everyone chuckled, Vic'que leaned forwards, a thin smile on her features, "I'm joining the Remnant." Their mirth melted away as she continued, "the 181st could use a few female pilots."

Garin and the others all exchanged quiet glances; none of them said anything about Vic'que's motivations for going to the Remnant, there was an awkward silence that floated in the air for several moments before Harth spoke up.

"I'm staying on, there's no life I'd rather live than this."

Kalan and Matrin exchanged glances before piling atop of the larger man with liquor induced levity.

"Then," Kalan began.

"We're staying too," Matrin finished, "after all."

"Diamond One needs someone," Kalan supplied.

"To lighten the mood," Matrin concluded, both of them grinning.

"They're finishing each other's thoughts now, can we shoot them yet," Sissir asked, mock terror written over her face.

The expression on Harth's face was one of annoyance and even despair, but Garin caught the glint behind his eye and smiled privately. Harth would have gotten lonely without the two idiots in tow. He still wasn't sure who would be staying aboard the _Knight _and who would be going home or wherever they were headed. He looked around at his friends, noting the absence of Daru, she had declined Toth's invitation rather abruptly when it had been given. Iriana had more important matters to attend to, like preparing the _Knight _for operations with a skeleton crew. He still wasn't sure how many would remain behind when they had the option of leaving. The unit was close knit, but when there was nothing left to fight for what was the point of fighting?

"What about you Commander," Sissir asked, breaking into his thoughts.

He sighed and shrugged, "I'm going back to Coruscant. So long as I keep a low profile there shouldn't be a problem. Besides, who is going to look for a Imperial Fleet officer in the heart of the Republic?"

"You still have family there," Toth asked.

"If they haven't moved, and if they haven't the first thing I'm doing is finding a reason for them to move."

Matrin smirked, "one of those neighborhoods huh? Obroa-Skai had those too; but they're just so quaint that no one wants to get rid of them. What with the mugging, gangs, and murders, who wouldn't want it?"

Kalan snorted and nodded, "yeah, and if you were feeling really bored you could always start a riot, get in some looting while you were at it."

"If I need that kind of entertainment I'll be sure to find you two," Garin said with a snort. "I'm thinking go play flight instructor for a while, there are enough small spaceports. There's bound to be a few flight schools that can use a good instructor."

Harth smiled; as usual the expression looked strangely dangerous on him "Instructing them to do what, shoot at other trainees?"

Kalan leapt to the challenge, "class today we are fitting your ships with live weapons, have fun and try not to die."

"Then I hope the two of you attend one of those lessons," Vic'que said, eyeing Kalan and Matrin with a vicious smile of her own, "I'll go through the humiliation of flight school to shoot you down."

"Have to catch us first," Matrin said with an easy grin, "and you'll have all the spacies flying around trying not to run into one another to contend with."

"I'll just shoot anyone that gets in my way, I'm sure the 181st won't mind a little raid on Coruscant," she responded with a benign smile.

Matrin's expression was rather uninspired as he feigned a shiver of terror; Garin chuckled and shook his head, taking another sip of his drink.

"Can we refrain from shooting my students? I'd like to earn a living you know."

"Excuse me, do you mind if I join you?"

They all looked up from their conversation to find Daru standing in the doorway of Toth's cabin; she looked more than a little nervous.

Sissir stood up and guided the younger woman into the room, "come on, any of the guys try anything I'll kick their rears into space."

She nodded and took the offered seat and drink that Toth handed her, "sorry I couldn't come earlier; the hangar is still a bit of a mess after the last attack."

No one mentioned the deaths that had come with the 'mess' as Daru took her first tentative sips of her liquor, her lekku trembling as the liquid passed her lips.

"So Blue," Vic'que finally said, leaning forwards with a predatory smile, "what are you going to do?"

Daru shook her head, "I haven't decided yet," her gaze passed briefly over Garin before moving away just as quickly as it had come. "I really don't know what I can do. I don't have a home to go back to, there are something's I'd like to do but really they're just dreams…I may just stay if Captain Chapela will let me. I assume she'll still need someone to maintain the fighters and transports."

"Most of my commandos are going home," Sissir said quietly, "especially after that last fiasco with Rapier*** Two. All of them though, are taking the address to contact the _Knight _again. Who knows, we might see them again."

"I hope we all get to see each other again, regardless of what happens," Daru said, holding her glass gingerly in her hands and looking at the deck.

"Oh don't worry, if you choose to stick around you won't be alone," Matrin said cheerily.

"Yep," Kalan said as Daru looked up at the pair, "we're staying behind to keep Harth company; we should be able to spare some time for you too right Mat?"

Matrin nodded, "well we can't let her work on the ship by herself, she'll need a few extra hands and we might as well be useful at least once in our lives."

"Hey I'm very useful," Kalan objected fitfully.

"Yes," Harth murmured darkly, "you provide Vic'que and myself an excellent target during training."

More jokes were traded, but Garin wasn't paying attention, his gaze was on Daru and hers was on him. He didn't like what he saw there, questions, and a distance that he hadn't seen before even when he'd botched things so badly before. Even if she was back to normal, things between them would never be the same.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal Cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"What did she ultimately decide?"

"Hmm," I looked up, yawning and shaking my head. "Sorry."

Deana scowled, "Chief Kerrila."

"She decided to stay aboard the _Knight; _everyone else went off to live their own lives for the most part. Only a handful of our unit chose to stay with Iriana and Orlis; the rest went back to the galaxy, some had family like me that they hadn't seen in a very long time. Others were just tired of fighting; almost everyone took the email address that was handed out."

"What was that address?"

I snorted, "you don't seriously expect me to let you track down the rest of my people do you?"

"You have been awfully cooperative, I thought you might want to go a little further," she said simply.

"I'm tired, of this war, of people like you, and of the fact that everyone thinks that I can be used as they see fit. I'm giving you this information because it is no longer relevant and won't endanger anyone who served with me. Anything that will endanger them," I smiled grimly, "well lets just say you'll have to get more creative than asking me nicely."

"How many times do I have to repeat myself, we don't torture our prisoners of war."

"Well then I suppose you'll just have to cope with the fact that I'm not going to answer some of your questions."

Her eyes narrowed and she sighed heavily, turning to her notes as she composed herself and regained her thoughts.

"Alright, let's skip ahead, when exactly did you reenter Imperial service, since you obviously did."

I snorted, it hadn't exactly been an invitation I could refuse, not when you considered who had sent the invitation.

**Approximately 14 months earlier, Coruscant**

"Alright that's enough for today; bring them in nice and easy."

Garin watched as his students in the simulators brought their ships in and landed them, his eyes narrowing.

"Three, trim up or you're going to pitch over, Two you're coming in too hard, you aren't trying to plant the thing. Four do not make me repeat myself again, this is the third time."

He sighed and leaned against the control console with a scowl, at least one of his students was showing some promise. The others were clumsy at best, but at least none of them had gotten killed this time. The last simulator run Three and Two had both tried to land in the same spot, it hadn't exactly been pretty. One and Four had aborted their runs in time to attempt the landing again when both keyed their repulsorlifts to get clear of the wreck. Four though, had the annoying tendency to land without her gear deployed or rather, not allowing it enough time to deploy. At this rate, if she kept it up, he'd flunk her. Two and Three were in danger as well. This wasn't his first group of washouts, but so far he'd been able to pass at least one of his students in each class, usually two but he couldn't win them all.

"You're pretty hard on them," observed the tech who monitored the simroom.

He looked at her and shrugged, "if they're getting themselves killed in the sims, then they sure as space aren't going to make it to the real thing."

She chuckled and looked at him with a conspirator's smile. Garin hated when she did that, he was pretty sure he knew why she did it and he wasn't biting; didn't stop her from trying it though.

"You've been the talk of the port since signing on as an instructor, no one buys that you're an ex-merc though. Ex-military is more likely I think, but which side were you on I wonder."

"I've told you at least a dozen times by now, I was with Zsinj until the Republic took an interest in him, I decided it was too hot and made my way here to find my sister. That's all there is to it."

She smiled and leaned forwards, "you know girls love the mysterious ones."

"I'll start carrying a letter detailing my exploits," Garin growled as he turned and left the control room and strode to the locker room where they were putting their flight suits away. They all stopped what they were doing, but only One looked at him, the others didn't want to meet his gaze. It was an interesting bunch, One was a Falleen, Two was a Zabrak, Three was a Devaronian, and Four was Quarren. It was quite an interesting bunch indeed.

"One, you're dismissed, you three aren't going anywhere."

There was a collection of what amounted to groans, but One didn't go anywhere, Garin looked at her for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.

"If you want to stay be my guest, but I don't have anything important to say to you."

"Sir, can I have a word with you?"

Garin turned to find One standing by the exit to the spaceport's training facility, he turned back and continued walking without saying anything. A moment later, One followed after him.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Do you ever remember any of our names?"

Garin blinked and stopped to look at her, considering for a moment before shrugging.

"No."

"Why not, it would certainly help if you called us something other than numbers.'

"Does it really matter," he replied, "you're passing, that's all you need to know."

"Bu—"

"Lieutenant-Commander Durives, might I have a word?"

Garin turned, along with One to find a short, broad shouldered figure gathered in a cloak standing in the shadows of an alley.

"Perhaps," Garin finally replied after a brief securitization of this newcomer.

"This isn't open to debate, I might have made it sound like a request, but believe me, it wasn't."

Garin looked at One briefly and sighed, "Ziaara, you should do home now."

One froze and looked at him in confusion, "bu—"

"Just go," Garin said resignedly. "This isn't something you need to worry about."

She paused, and then nodded, turning to leave, the figure smiled, Garin could tell because the dim light gleamed off a predator's set of teeth.

"A wise choice, she would have been killed otherwise."

"Someone I pissed off the last few years wants me dead I take it."

"Hardly," the figure growled, "Thrawn summons you."

Author's Note: I seem to be getting back into the swing of things, I'm going to try and finish this story before my navy recruitment gets much further developed and I lose that ability, sorry its taken all this time. Hope I haven't lost too many of my readers in the process. Hades Wing is back in action and you'll finally get to see how everything turns out.

*Zsinj's whereabouts were unknown after the converted hull of the _Razor's Kiss, _Zsinj's second Super Star Destroyer, (it was destroyed but the Warlord salvaged the ship and rechristened this rebuilt vessel the _Second Death_) was used to fake the destruction of the _Iron Fist. _He was later found by Han Solo, Lea Organa, and Luke Skywalker and ultimately killed when Solo destroyed the _Iron Fist_'s bridge with a missile salvo from the _Millennium Falcon._

**While I don't know if it operates in the same manner as our email, there is definitely a form of electronic person-to-person mailing system in place around the galaxy as evidenced in several books and games.

***I don't think I explained this when it first happened, but originally the assault shuttles were designated Raptor, however since Zsinj's watchdogs were part of the Warlord's elite Raptor forces the shuttle group was re-designated Rapier to avoid callsign confusion during the unit's service to Zsinj.


	36. Chapter 35

**Approximately 13 months earlier, Outer Rim Territories, on approach to the Star Destroyer **_**Chimaera**_

Garin looked out the viewscreen of the shuttle and couldn't help the feeling of awe that crept into his gut; he hadn't seen a fleet like this in years. Not since Endor had he been in the presence of this many capital ships, he counted six Star Destroyers, both Imperator and Imperial classes* arrayed in a battle line, with smaller flanking cruisers and frigates hanging in their shadows at least two dozen of these smaller warships.

"Impressive isn't it," the shuttle pilot said without looking up from his task.

"Yeah, I haven't seen anything like this in a long time; I can't say it isn't intimidating."

The pilot chuckled, adjusting his thrusters, "yeah, the Admiral is good at scaring the spit out of people. _Chimaera _this is shuttle Aleph-Zeta, we are on approach."

"Clearance granted shuttlecraft, you are cleared to the secondary hangar."

The shuttle's wings folded up as it maneuvered into the smaller hangar, touching down gently on the deck.

"Good luck sir," the pilot said as he powered down the craft.

Garin nodded, not sure how much luck he'd need as he walked back towards the ramp leading down to the deck. It extended slowly, and he started down it before it touched the hull, stepping off before it made the metallic clink of touch down. He looked around the hangar with a deep breath, which quickly turned to a whistle as he saw the various shuttle and transport craft berthed in the hangar; it was quite the armada. He found himself wishing he could have landed in the main hangar where the fighters be loaded, he'd like to see the firepower that Thrawn was carrying. He spied an officer striding towards him, he stood to attention as the officer approached, this wasn't the _Knight _and Garin was once more under the command of ship captains. He'd have to get used to that he imagined.

He saluted as the officer reached him, and the salute was returned crisply. "Captain Gilad Pellaeon of the _Chimaera; _you must be Lieutenant-Commander Durives."

Garin froze, Pellaeon must have seen the shift because his eyes narrowed, "have we met?"

"Just in com logs sir, your order left a lot of good men and women at Endor to die."

Pallaeon's jaw tightened, "I did what I thought was tactically sound, preserving the fle—"

"With all due respect sir, if you hadn't conflicted with Teshlik we might have rallied the fleet and smashed the Rebellion; with the Emperor and Vader both gone we might have had a chance of seriously ending the war then and there."

Pellaeon ground his teeth, "I saved the fleet and maintained our fighting strength, the Grand Admiral—"

"Would have outnumbered the Alliance fleet by several factors and stood a good chance of crushing them, despite the losses sustained, if you had stayed and fought. It would have been a brutal battle, but we could have crushed them and rebuilt instead of losing more and more ground to them all these years."

Pallaeon regarded him for a long moment before finally speaking, "so what will you do now Lieutenant-Commander?"

"A year ago I probably would have hit you, but I'm too tired of all this for that anymore. I'm willing to start over, since it would seem that Thrawn has rebuilt the Empire's spine."

Pallaeon heard the insult and his face tightened significantly as he spoke, "the Grand Admiral is waiting for you, follow me."

Garin doubled over, clutching his stomach from the vicious kick the small, gray alien had delivered to him. It was the same species of whatever the one that had approached him on Coruscant had been and if it couldn't pack a hit he didn't know what did.

"Somewhere, you thought that I intended for you to squander the resources I had put at your disposal. I'm not entirely sure where you got this idea, but it is incorrect Lieutenant-Commander."

"What," Garin coughed, "what did you expect me to do? The Empire was shattered, scattered between maniacs like Isard and Zsinj, did you expect me to serve them obediently?"

Thrawn smiled coldly, steepling his fingers. "I expected you to survive, with Hades intact. Not disband it and scatter your forces to the winds. You're very fortunate that you and your men had the forethought to implement the ability to recall your people. Though I must admit, making this recall voluntary is yet another mistake on your part; I find your performance lacking."

"Oh forgive me for fighting all these years and finally realizing that it was no longer viable to maintain the unit safely." Garin snapped.

"Well," Thrawn said with measured annoyance, "you'll be glad to know that I have contacted Captain Chapela and she'll be joining the fleet within the next week. She has already issued the recall order, as for you Commander," Thrawn smiled at Garin's expression, "yes, you are now a Commander; I am assigning you a composite wing of Howlrunners and Scimitar bombers. I think that you need time away from your old command in order to rehabilitate yourself. Once that has been done, I fully intend to make use of both you and Hades."

Garin was standing again, looking at Thrawn dubiously, "what do you plan exactly?"

Thrawn chuckled, "I fully intend to wipe the Republic from the galaxy, and then finish what the Emperor started. Only as a united imperium can this galaxy hope to survive."

Garin blinked and studied Thrawn's features, survive what? Looking at Pallaeon he saw no recognition of what Thrawn meant and that was worrisome considering the Captain's place by the Grand Admiral's side. Thrawn was back…Garin wasn't sure how he felt about it.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"That was the end of last year wasn't it?"

I nodded, "I learned later that Thrawn had returned just before Zsinj's death and begun to consolidate his forces."

It hadn't been smooth sailing though; something, or someone, had gotten in Thrawn's way. I still wasn't sure why so many Imperial assets vanished into the deep core, but roughly seven tenths** of all Imperial combat units just vanished without a trace. The local warlords and moffs answered Thrawn's call of course, but where those other units had gone to, I'll probably never know.

"Why did Thrawn place you with another unit?"

"He felt I'd grown weak I suppose, that I needed to be reminded how the military worked." I smiled and chuckled a little, "worked too. Within that month my new unit was one of the best Thrawn had at his disposal and I was ready to fight again. Not as good as the 181st or Hades mind you, I didn't have that caliber of pilot or the time, but still damned good. We were responsible for bringing the last wayward moffs and warlords to heel and we did that job with excellence. Later, after Thrawn had brought in all the reinforcements he was going to get, we were among the first units to start conducting hit and run attacks on Republic targets."

Deana checked her datapad for a moment before nodding, "yes, the first attacks were by small composite groups if I recall correctly, Howlrunners, Star Wings, Skiprays, the new Scmitars*** and even advanced TIE models. We didn't know what was going on at first, but it was clear that someone had organized at least a component of the Empire's forces to start striking at us in such a coordinated manner."

"Yes, my team was one of those first strikers. It was actually relieving to finally have a mission again."

"You mean you were relieved you didn't have to make the decisions," she said, her tone growing hard and accusatory.

I shrugged, "use that tone all you like, but seriously. Can you tell me that you'd rather have absolutely no direction from a higher command that you'd rather be left to your own discretion for all your operations with no one higher than you?"

"Of course not, I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't report in or ask for orders."

I shook my head and smiled, "exactly, I'm no different. Sure I was a bit more independent than most commanders could have been, but after a time it got to the point where I couldn't make those kinds of choices anymore. That's the whole reason I disbanded the unit, because we just didn't have a mission any longer. We lost our purpose, with the return to a proper chain of command, and with a leader that we trusted, things were back to normal."

"But wait, you said that Thrawn beat you when you first returned."

"Yes, and he also executed those who performed with gross incompetence, he wasn't exactly forgiving and I would never claim otherwise. However he gave everyone who served under him reason to fight, and the confidence to do so. That direction had been sorely lacking in the Empire until that point."

The expression on her face was nothing short of complete bewilderment, "and yet you were willing to defect to the Alliance just before Endor, suddenly you became an Imperial all over again?"

"It wasn't about being an Imperial, it was about being home. Despite the reprimand from Thrawn, despite not flying with my unit those first weeks, despite all the doubts I'd had previously; when I went rogue I was fighting for a stable galaxy. Thrawn was offering that stability. He was that stability. More so than your Republic or Palpatine's Empire ever was; he was a chance to put the war to rest finally."

"The Empire could have just surrendered," she said darkly, "they still can."

"You see that's your problem," I said, leaning back and folding my arms. "You wont' accept anything short of total victory yourself. Nor will the Empire, both sides want the same thing, complete dominance. The only difference is in policy. What has the Republic gotten itself with all its freedoms? I knew what Thrawn was doing in the senate; he was setting your people off against each other like ravenous mynocks. You even canned your best admiral because a flea bitten senator sought that admiral's place of power. Thrawn's way wasn't brutal, he didn't conscript entire populations, xenophobia existed only because he'd yet to transition from typical Imperial units, and all he asked from the planets he took was that they provide his forces with supplies. Their customs, their way of life, was theirs to be had."

"And what makes the Republic worse?"

"I didn't say you were worse, just the same. You want people in this democracy of yours, they don't have a choice. If they aren't in it, you see them as a threat and move against them. You're doing exactly what Thrawn would have done, but you won't admit it to yourselves."

She worked her hands tensely and I smiled, yeah she didn't like what I was saying, but it was true. The senate was full of power players who cared little about the overall workings of the galaxy or its people so long as they got what they wanted. There were plenty of Imperials like that too, I wouldn't deny it, but again you knew the ones who would do it and you could deal with them knowing they'd do it. The Republic, you couldn't tell the poisonous snakes from the harmless ones; any of them could be your enemy as easily as your friend and all it took was a little personal gain for them to tip the scale against you.

Finally she spoke, "when did Hades return to operational status?"

I smiled, she was thinking now; I just wondered how far we were going to get though considering what was bound to happen sooner or later.

**Approximately 11 months earlier, deep space, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_

Garin looked around the hangar as he stepped off the shuttlecraft, immediately he was greeted by Kalan and Matrin's smiling faces as they mobbed him and slapped him on the back.

"Hey, we hear you've been having fun without us!"

"Yeah," Matrin said dubiously, "something about a bunch of new blood being trained for hit and run ops?"

Garin chuckled and held up his hands, "I swear it wasn't my idea."

"Good to have you back sir," Harth said stoically, though the larger man was smiling for what it was worth.

"It's good to be back," Garin looked at Orlis and Iriana, "how did you do on your own?"

Orlis raised an eyebrow, his hands clasped behind his back, "we managed sir."

Iriana smiled back at Garin ferociously, "I think it was actually quieter without you around Commander, congratulations on your promotion."

Garin looked at Harth, Kalan, and Matrin, "you've all been promoted again too, Lieutenant Commander Arusi and Captains Sele and Reath."

"Oh good, a new pay grade," Matrin said with a snort. "I wonder if I'll actually get paid now."

"What about Vic'que and Toth," asked Kalan curiously.

Garin smiled a little sadly, "Vic'que is staying with the 181st, she's still a captain last I heard. As for Toth," he shrugged with a smile, "he's a captain now too, that should make him happy, have no idea where he is; probably drunk."

"I the Major knows how to fly," Iriana said with a snort.

Another shuttle touched down and a small crowd came tramping down the ramp as it touched the deck.

"Speaking of Captain Luixana," Orlis said with a faint smile.

"Hey everyone, you aren't starting anything without me are you," Toth said jovially as he spied them and came over, looping an arm around both Harth and Garin's shoulders.

"Been behaving yourself captain," Harth inquired, shrugging off Toth's arm.

Before Toth could speak, Sissir joined the party with her usual gruff demeanor intact.

"We managed to start a small place despite Toth's rather lackluster money management skills. Once this is over we're going back to finish what we started."

"So you guys actually did it," Kalan asked excitedly, "started a vineyard?"

"Better believe it," Toth said grinning, "all of you had better come by sometime when this is all over."

"I'm sure we'll have the chance once we've finished," Iriana said handing Garin a datapad and stylus. "This is the list of everyone who will be returning."

Garin looked over the list and smiled, it wasn't that bad at all, most of the absentee Hades had taken the recall address with them when they'd left and it looked like almost all of them were coming back. He hadn't asked for replacements for those they'd lost just before disbanding, or to fill up the ranks of those who wouldn't be returning. Thrawn didn't have that kind of manpower to spare at the moment. The unit would be able to handle itself for now; they had their hardware intact after all. Automated systems and droids could pick up the slack where there was any. There was however, one request he needed to make; he tapped a slot and selected an item with a smile before handing the datapad back to Iriana.

She looked at the screen curiously curiously, "are they any good?"

"The maintenance crews are good, Chief Kerrila will make them better, the pilots aren't up to our standards but that will change. They're good at what they do and should integrate well; we need the reinforcement anyways."

"Speaking of Blue," Sissir said curiously, looking around the flight deck, "where is she? I'd expect to see her around here to welcome everyone back."

Iriana waved across the hangar to the opposite flight deack, "she's glued herself to the fighters again. I don't know how we would have kept everything in working order without her here. She's been working miracles with the members of her crew that stayed, and she's programmed the rest into the maintenance droids with a vengeance. Not a single slip up since we disbanded."

"That would be Daru," Toth said with a careful smile, watching Garin who was staring across at the rows of fighters and the swarm of techs and droids crawling over them. "You could go talk to her Gar."

"I could," Garin said simply before turning and walking towards the hangar's exit without a backwards glance.

They all watched him leave and exchanged the same expression; Orlis spoke first in his usual monotone manner.

"I do perceive that we might have a crisis on our hands."

Author's Note: It should be noted that there is some debate as to when exactly Thrawn returned. Some sources say he was back and in command of the Empire's forces around the time Isard lost Coruscant, roughly 6 years ABY. He may have very well returned by then, however given the lackluster performance by the Imperials at that time I do not believe he had yet taken command even if he had returned. There is no confirmed sighting of Thrawn until 8 years ABY, just before he commenced his assaults on the Republic.

*Since I don't recall if I ever clarified the distinction between these two warship classes I will do so now. The Imperator is also called the Imperial I, however many within and without the Empire still called it by the (Old) Republic title of Imperator. The true Imperial was the Imperial II class, so in my writings I have kept them distinct by titling Imperial I as Imperator and Imperial II as Imperial.

**This vanishing act was orchestrated by the cloned Emperor Palpatine who had finally issued a call for Imperial forces to rally at Byss. It is never established in canon whether or not Thrawn knew of this; whether he had his own agenda or was merely buying time for the revived Emperor. Given Thrawn's own words and actions, and what others who were close to him say in other sources after his death, I'm assuming that he was operating on his own and fully intended to unite the galaxy against the eventual threat of the Far-Outsiders (presumably the Yuuzhan Vong [it is interesting to note that Thrawn felt that even with the galaxy united behind him and his military genius at work, that he could not guarantee a victory against them. To my knowledge, this is only time he made such an admission]).

***As far as I've been able to tell the prototype for the Scimitar Assault Bomber first flew at Endor and saw service with various Imperial forces afterwards. The prototype version was based off of the original TIE Bomber; the final model did away with the twin ion engines that gave the TIE models their name and dual hull for a single cylindrical hull and more powerful engines. It was a much heavier and all round better bombing platform equipped with a substantially larger payload, shields, and even a hyperdrive. Despite proving superior (in every way but cost) to older bomber types, the Scimitar did not start seeing widespread use until Thrawn's return.


	37. Chapter 36

**Approximately 11 months earlier, deep space, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_

Garin stood in the _Knight_'s flight control overlooking that hangar, the new unit had arrived earlier and he was interested to see how they interacted with the old Hades. When he'd joined them there had been nine Howlrunners and six Scimitars, he'd been given a TIE Advanced, partially to be kept separate from them but also because it enabled him to command the unit in a more secure manner given the durability of the Advanced. The Howlrunner was arguably better than the standard TIE fighter, and it was faster than the X-wing, but it wasn't anything stellar. He'd developed a tactic in which each pair of Scimitars would be shepherded by three Howlrunners ensuring their ability to get to the target intact. So far the unit hadn't been forced into the kind of heavy combat that Hades had seen and had lost no one but now he'd need to train them up and perhaps do something about the lackluster armament* of the Howlrunner.

Hades current fighter compliment was quite impressive in his mind, they'd lost two Skiprays, three of their Star Wings were gone, one Diamond Blue, one Defender, and two Avengers. That left them with a ship inventory of three Skiprays, nine Gunboats, eleven DBs and Defenders, and ten Avengers. Add to that this influx of nine I-7s and six bombers it evened out nicely. Almost all of his pilots had returned somewhat to his surprise, including Vic'que, there were seven who had not come, all of whom had originally taken the recall address. He didn't fault any of them, to be perfectly fair he was probably crazy to come back to the fight after finding a new place for his family and getting a good civilian job. Yet here he was, and he felt alive; it was good to be back. Even if being back meant figuring out what to do with his seven pilot-less craft when he couldn't request further reinforcement.

"What are you saying, the 'runner is an amazing craft. Better than the TIE that's for sure."

"Sure, compared to the original TIE Fighter it's worlds better, even if its armament is terrible; but look around you Lieutenant, you aren't being compared to TIE Fighters here; the I-7 is a piece of junk."

"Watch your mouth tails, don't forget your commander picked us to join Hades, he knows we're worth the effort."

"Then why did he fly an Advanced during his service with you?"

"Why you—"

Garin snorted and leaned over the shoulder of the operator in front of him who smiled as they both listened to the continuing argument between Daru and one of the new pilots.

"The Chief is tearing them a new one sir."

"Yes she is," Garin said with a hidden smile. "Compared to what she's used to working on I imagine the Howlrunner is a bit of a downgrade."

"Yeah but not those Scimitars, I've talked to some of the techs since they landed this morning. They're real beasts; I can understand why no one has used them till now despite all that power."

"I imagine Diamond Squadron is going to have quite a fun time seeing how they compare in the sims," Garin said in response, his eyes still fixed on the holocam that was observing Daru's growing debate over the I-7. It had attracted a small crowd, both pilots and crew. He hoped it wouldn't break out into anything too serious, the last thing he needed was a schism in the unit.

"Uh oh," the controller said suddenly as the pilot Daru had been arguing with grabbed the front of her jumpsuit. He reached for the intercom button.

Garin got there first and punched the intercom without hesitating, "alright everyone that's enough, Reaver group get off the flight deck and let the crews do their jobs. If you've got nothing better to do then find the XO and set up a sim run. Chief, if you have the chance, paint the new fighters in Hades colors; they're with us now."

There was a pause as the offending pilot seemed poised to carry through against Daru who was staring back at him coolly. Garin wondered when that had happened, she wasn't weak willed, but he'd never have pegged her to stand up to someone with such an obvious advantage in a scuffle. He recalled what had happened while Stele and his goons had stayed aboard the _Knight_ before Endor and felt a tinge of sadness. All the abuse had produced someone much stronger than he remembered; maybe he'd talk to Iriana about that. Perhaps Sissir, she'd always been close to Daru. Below, the pilot finally let go of Daru. She looked up at the control room and saluted loosely.

"I'll take care of it sir."

"Commander," the Lieutenant, Arjuna, called. "Sorry sir, it's just that—"

"Again, if you've got nothing else to do, get the Reavers over to Lieutenant-Commander Arusi and set up a sim run. You're in a different league now, all of you, you'll need the training."

After another moment the group dispersed and Garin stood back, "sorry about that, I took your job."

The controller took a sip of his caf and sighed in relief, "no sir, anytime you want to break that kind of thing up go right ahead. I'm not the CO; they might come after me if I have to pull security on them."

Garin patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave, "I doubt that, I wouldn't have let them into the unit if I didn't think they could learn."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"I'd forgotten that you'd lost that many pilots," Deana said quietly as she looked over her notes a frown crossing her features as she looked back at me. "Wait, it says here that Hades was noted to be 'at full strength during the battle and operating with astounding efficiency.'"

"Thrawn had an ace up his sleeve that he didn't bother to tell anyone about, at least not anyone outside of his inner circle. I didn't know about it until just after Sluis Van when Hades got a call to rendezvous with the command fleet."

"What had you been doing up to that point?"

"Raiding mostly, and bringing the Reavers up to our level of operational ability. You would have liked to hear Harth during that time; he got quite colorful during the sim debriefings. It was quite sobering for them and their egos to have Harth tearing them to shreds like a bunch of fresh cadets."

"The Reavers sound a bit undisciplined, hardly up to Hades standards."

"Like I said, they weren't on our level, but they were good enough that I brought them onboard to compensate for our losses."

"How many of them did you lose in the coming months?"

I looked at her and smiled dangerously, and why not? It was worth boasting about.

"Not a one; but you didn't want to hear about that did you? You want to know how we got our numbers back when we obviously didn't have the manpower…."

**Approximately 6 months earlier, deep space, aboard the **_**Black Knight **_

"What are we doing out here anyways," Toth asked curiously as he studied the holomap in the Cave.

"Thrawn called us out here; he said he has something important for us, something he can't trust anyone else with."

Toth blinked slowly, looking at Garin curiously. "He trusts us?"

"He must, he also said we'd finally be getting reinforced."

"Well considering how low intensity our missions have been so far, I can't say we need it."

"Don't you want all your Gunboats back," Garin chided with a smile.

"It would be nice to actually have a full compliment for our squadrons, but I'm more likely to hear that my vineyard has produced a wining wine in my absence."

"You left it in the hands of who exactly," Garin asked with a chuckle.

"Bunch of droids and my parents," Toth responded with a grin.

Garin snorted, "should be interesting." He paused and looked at Toth, speaking quietly. "I've been meaning to ask; why did you come back, I thought you always wanted your own place to get your brew."

Toth shrugged, "felt like I'd be letting everyone down if I didn't respond when I got the mail."

They fell silent as the ship reverted to realspace, Garin's eyes widened as nearly two-hundred signals appeared in the Cave's holotank.

"What in space is that," Toth whispered, "Thrawn doesn't have that many ships."

Garin was sure that Toth was right; there was no way Thrawn could have come up with this many capital ships in such a short period of time. Just what was going on though, since Garin was certain all the ships were in fact there, was anyone's guess.

"The Grand Admiral is signaling us," one of the techs called.

Thrawn's image appeared to replace the sensor scan of the area, his red gaze focused on Garin, both he and Toth saluted as the Grand Admiral began to speak.

"Commander, I have an important task for you; you will join me aboard the _Chimaera _immediately."

Garin opened his mouth to affirm the order but the connection died and Thrawn's holo was replaced by the sensor scan once more.

"That was," both began with a smile, "abrupt."

"Probably has something to do with all these ships," Garin responded turning and walking towards the hatch, keying his comlink. "Iriana, I'll be going over to the _Chimera_, you have command."

"Affirmative sir, I'll have a shuttle standing by in the hangar bay."

"Hey Gar," Garin stopped and looked back at Toth, "even if all those ships are ours, we don't have the manpower to man them all. What do you think the Admiral has up his sleeve?"

Garin smiled, "considering what he's done in the past, I wouldn't be surprised if he's about to tell us exactly what he has planned for all these ships."

Toth nodded and looked back at the screen with a frown, "just be careful. I get the feeling he has something more than ships on his mind."

Garin chuckled and waved at his friend, "don't go force sensitive on me, Stele and the Shrikes were bad enough."

Garin stepped off the shuttle and was greeted by Pallaeon, the pair had come to a grudging truce over their differences. Pallaeon, despite whatever else he may or may not be, was a good officer and cared about those that served with and under him. The fact that he was able to adapt to and willingly learned from Thrawn's tactics made him worth more than the average Imperial officer in Garin's mind; so despite past differences Garin was willing to forgive him Endor and move on if cautiously.

"Do you know what the Grand Admiral needs sir?"

"No Commander," Pallaeon said to Garin's surprise; Thrawn told Pallaeon everything as far as he'd seen. "He said that only you needed to know what was going on in this case."

Garin nodded thoughtfully and followed the _Chimaera_'s Captain as he led the way towards Thrawn's private chambers. Garin noticed something as they went, a lot of familiar faces; he didn't recognize them exactly, but he swore that he kept seeing the same people over and over again. By the time they reached Thrawn's darkened rooms, he was certain of it and felt his throat growing dry as the only reasonable explanation sank in.

Then something cold slid against his neck and he felt someone grab him from behind, Pallaeon turned immediately as if he'd heard something Garin hadn't.

"Rukh, how many times have I told you to stop doing that?"

Garin heard a growl and what he assumed was Rukh's knife slid away from his neck, he turned around to find Thrawn's squat bodyguard standing and glowering at them both.

"I must practice or lose who I am," growled the Nogihri as he moved back into the shadows.

Garin watched as the bodyguard vanished and felt a shiver run down his spine, "thank you for that."

"He's like a rabid dog, if they weren't deathly loyal to the Grand Admiral I'd never let him stay aboard the ship."

Pallaeon turned and opened the hatch, it hissed and Garin was let in on a sight that surprised him as Pallaeon closed the hatch once more. Thrawn was sitting in a command style chair at the center of the room and all around him; whimsically rendered holographic sea life swam in a blue-green sea.

"Do you follow art Commander," Thrawn asked quietly, stroking a strange yellowish creature that purred in his lap.

The imagery was like something out of a drug induced dream as far as Garin was concerned, but he didn't express his views, instead answering simply as was usually the best option when Thrawn was in this sort of mood.

"Only when it involves ships and their combat sir, I'm afraid that is the only art I regularly follow."

He watched as a massive, ray-like animal swam over his head casting a vast shadow over him as it glided through the water and faded into the 'ocean' beyond. The feeling of submersion was surreal, the animals moved so fluidly that it was almost possible to forget that it was all holographic and programmed and that you were actually standing on the deck of a warship and not floating in some vast underwater expanse.

"Pity," Thrawn said, placing what Garin assumed was his pet, on the arm of his chair and standing. The animal immediately slid onto the seat of the chair and curled with a satisfied grunt as Thrawn walked around the virtual aquarium.

"The study of a species' art can lead to an understanding of that species and the knowledge needed to defeat it."

Garin blinked and watched as the Grand Admiral ran his hand through a holographic shark, "similar to what you did with Zaarin; a study of his personality to find his weakness." He looked around the holographic art piece curiously, "only on a species wide scale."

Thrawn smiled quietly, "exactly."

Garin looked back to him, "what did you need me to do."

"I have reinforcements for you, as well as replacements for your lost equipment," his smile broadened, "even for Chief Kerrila's rather unique starfighter, I was able to procure some Missile Boat parts for her as well as TIE Advanced frames."

"You could have sent those via transport, you didn't summon me here to explain the finer points of art, or to reinforce Hades."

Thrawn's gaze was appreciative as he stared at Garin, "you're wondering about the cruisers out there, how I plan to man them."

Garin nodded cautiously, "we certainly don't have the manpower to spare on that many warships, unless they're all automated."

"We do now; you saw the answer on your way here."

Garin's eyes narrowed, "clones."

Thrawn nodded, Garin watched him carefully as he continued.

"Doesn't that normally take decades?"

"If we were dealing with the Kaminoans yes, but I've found a way to produce clones, effectively, and sanely, within thirty days."

Garin felt his heart jump, he knew about the Clone Wars of course, its battles and tactics had been required study for the Academy, and knew how effective clones could be; he also knew that the Empire had stopped using the fast growing clones because they had no perception of tactics and were often insane**. What had Thrawn found that enabled him to do so safely? More importantly, what caliber were these clones, could they be integrated into a unit like Hades? The Reavers were troublesome enough, what would two squadrons worth of clones be like?

"Don't look so worried. I promise that they are quite competent and will meet your expectations. They are tailored to be swift learners, provided your crew can train them they will learn all they need to within a matter of days."

"That still doesn't explain why you summoned me," Garin pointed out.

"I have a very special and very secret task for you Commander. Even Pallaeon will not know of this."

Garin felt himself swallow involuntarily, what was so secretive that Thrawn would not entrust it to Pallaeon, and did he want to have any part in it was an even more pressing question.

*The I-7 Howlrunner was faster and more maneuverable than the TIE Fighter it competed against, and was faster and almost as maneuverable as the X-wing (ironically both produced by Incom Corporation despite flying on opposing sides). With its shields and optional hyperdrive it was arguably a better and more survivable fighter. However in one case it fell behind its competition: its twin laser cannon armament was significantly underpowered, even when compared to the TIE Fighter.

**The second clone type used by the Republic and later the Empire near the conclusion of the Clone Wars were grown using Spaarti cloning vats. These clones were able to grow much faster (half a year was the shortest time frame) than Kaminoan clones who took a decade to grow. However this increased speed came at the price of all the training that the original Fett clones received. It was not uncommon for these clones to run, guns blazing, at their targets regardless of casualties or orders. Because of this, the Stormtrooper Corps, which had originally been a clone only force comprised of the surviving Fett clones and billions of the new Spaarti clones was opened to normal humans as the Spaartis were deemed far too unstable and inefficient to make effective soldiers. Thrawn got around this problem by using Ysalamir to block out the force from the cloning vats, creating stable clones that could be grown in a matter of weeks. Known candidates for Thrawn's new clones were individuals such as Soontir Fel, Maxmillian Veers, and Maarek Stele.


	38. Chapter 37

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So what was the mission?"

"We had to seed a lot of the yasalmir across areas of the fleet where Thrawn didn't want C'Boath interfering. We also had a good number of the things put aboard the _Knight _as permanent members." I chuckled, "they were rather cute once you got used to having them wandering around the ship whenever it pleased them."

She looked at me disbelievingly, "wait, _that _was all he wanted you to do? I can't see how that required Hades' attention. He could have just distributed them using another method."

I smiled at her, I wasn't about to tell her the real reason for that mission; the war was over for me, I was done fighting it but I wasn't going to betray Thrawn's trust after all this time. The Republic did not need to know what Thrawn didn't want them to; he'd planned for everything, even his death. Our real mission had been very simple: take Thrawn's clone to safety in the Unknown Regions*, to stay with Thrawn's people. In the case of Thrawn's death, the clone would grow and when born would finish what he'd started. That was the plan anyways; I wasn't going to wait ten years to see another failed campaign but I was willing to give Thrawn the chance to prove my cynicism wrong. What Thrawn expected to find when his clone woke up was beyond me, considering this latest defeat and the rate at which Imperial units were vanishing** I seriously doubted there would be an Empire left to command in ten years.

"It was an important mission to Thrawn, C'Boath was growing increasingly unstable and Thrawn wanted to ensure that his major assets, and more importantly that his commanders, remained intact and loyal."

"So you moved throughout the fleet distributing yasalmir for Thrawn, what about the clones?"

I shuddered as I thought about them, the crew clones hadn't been that bad, they were a fairly diverse group and so it hadn't been blazingly obvious that they all looked alike. The other ones though, the ones assigned to replace our fighter and commando losses, those had been interesting.

**Approximately 3 months earlier, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_**, returning from the Unknown Regions**

Garin heard the curse before he saw the yasalmir sail through the air with a shriek; he caught the terrified creature which scrambled up on his shoulders and whined as he stopped in front of his Defender.

"You could be a little gentler with them you know, they don't mean any harm."

Daru stopped, heaving a sigh as she looked down at him from atop the fighter, "you could at least keep them off my hangar sir."

"They're not supposed to be on the hangar, I don't know how this one got here."

The two of them stared at one another for a long time, neither saying anything before Daru finally went back to her maintenance.

"How are the clones holding up," Garin asked, keeping one hand on the yasalmir clutching his shoulders.

Daru shook her head, "a child would make a better mechanic; I don't know what Thrawn was thinking when he made them. I've had to teach them everything!"

Garin chuckled, which earned him a scowl. He held up his free hand, forestalling any outburst.

"Sissir and I have been having similar issues with our clones too. They learn quickly and are efficient once taught, but teaching them is the problem."

"At least you have sims, I've got to physically take them through the motions whenever I have maintenance to run. I'm just glad that most of my team either stayed or came back or I'd go insane."

Garin nodded as she continued her work, taking a fresh tool out of her repulsor kit, "thank you by the way."

"What for," she hissed through gritted teeth as she applied herself to the latest offense his ship had committed.

"For staying on, it'd be hard to keep the unit running without you here."

Daru stopped what she was doing and looked straight ahead at the Defender's central pylon, "stop right there sir."

He looked at her with a frown and she shook her head, her voice growing softer.

"I don't want to hear it, things have changed sir. I don't want to hear it anymore."

Garin's face remained set neutrally though he knew what she was talking about and it stung, this latest cruise of theirs had allowed the unit plenty of free time and he'd used it to try talking to her. She'd been avoiding and evading his company very effectively and this was only the third time he'd managed to get her alone and the first time she'd been at all responsive.

"It's that bad?"

She nodded tightly, her lekku twitching uneasily.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go, and you weren't staying so this seemed like the best place for me to be. No one actually expected the unit to reform."

The words hit him like missiles and he took a long breath, again he'd really let things go for too long.

"Which part are you more upset about," he asked quietly, letting the yasalmir scramble off his shoulders and scurry away through the maze of machinery and personnel towards the hangar's exit. There were no nutrient frames on the hangar or any of the flight decks so why they came in here was beyond him; but as this one had evidenced they did so despite attempts to keep them out.

"Which part," Daru responded with a frown.

"Using you in my attempt to bargain with Zsinj, or knocking you out when you hijacked the hangar."

"I didn't hijack the hangar," she snapped, "I sealed it off; and don't blame me for that, I was scared and wasn't thinking."

She seemed to realize her tone and looked away sullenly, "sorry sir."

He shook his head, "you're allowed to be mad at me you know."

"I don't want to be mad at you sir," she said carefully, he really wished she'd stop saying sir. "But whenever you start talking to me I get mad."

"Latent memories and unconscious responses perhaps, your lekku can store those subconsciously right?"

She started, nearly dropping her tool in the process, and looked down at him, "you know about that?"

Garin leaned against the Defender's engine block and looked back over the hangar, "I wouldn't be a very good leader if I didn't learn about what makes my people who they are. In your case I didn't look deep enough and endangered you and a lot of other people because of my mistake."

There was silence, he didn't look up to see what she was doing, instead he just watched the other fighters being serviced by the deck teams, here and there, somewhat to his surprise, he spied the clone pilots. The ones that resembled Fel didn't bother him too much, but he always jumped mentally whenever the Stele look-a-likes crossed his field of vision. Kalan and Matrin had made the joke that Vic'que would have been in heaven if she'd still been with the unit, Garin wasn't too sure about that considering her attitude but it was a funny thought despite its implausibility. He'd tried to imagine what his reaction would have been if Thrawn had used Daru in his clone template for some of the crewmen clones. He didn't think he'd have appreciated it very much; too many memories would have been associated with people who had nothing to do with those memories.

"Are you even listening to me," Daru called from above, breaking into his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said instantly, looking up to find her scowling at him.

She sighed and shook her head, "nevermind."  
"For what it's worth Daru, I'm sorry."

She sighed and went back to work, "you really weren't listening just now. I don't blame you sir."

"So why are you calling me sir constantly instead of Garin?"

She stopped, but didn't look down at him as she put her tool in her pocket and leaned forwards with her head against the fighter's pylon.

"It isn't the same Garin, stop trying to act like it can be. Things have changed, I have changed, and it isn't going to work anymore. So please, just stop before you hurt both of us."

Garin felt a knot form in his throat as he tried to respond, he finally managed a strangled "yeah" and moved away from the Defender and began walking back through the maze of machinery.

"Sir, do you have a moment?"

He turned and refrained from scowling as Stele's face stared at him, "yes?"

"I was wondering if you'd be able to join us for a sim run sir," the clone said, sounding remarkably childlike. As if he was asking his older brother to play with him.

Garin considered for a moment, then reached for his com unit, "Iriana can you broadcast something for me?"

"Yes sir, you're patched in now."

Garin took a breath and had the satisfaction of hearing his voice booming over the ship wide intercom.

"All fighter crews are to report to the training lounge, be prepared to practice in massed formations against hardened targets."

The clone's face brightened in elation as Garin returned his comlink, he hadn't exercised his entire unit since reforming; given his current mood this might not have been the best time to do it. However the clones needed the training, and he need to blow off steam.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"You called a wing wide training session because you were in a bad mood?"

I shrugged, feeling a little sheepish, it did sound pretty childish in hindsight; but at the time it seemed like the best answer to my problem.

"It was more productive than wandering around the ship snapping at people, if you could ask any of my people they'd tell you the same thing: Hades was training obsessed. We made sure that each squadron trained in the sims at least once a day; and every pilot was required to have fifteen minutes of sim time every day regardless of other duties."

"Even Rogue squadron doesn't have that kind of training regimen," Deana said in surprise.

"Now you know why we beat the odds so many times, Toth, Harth, Kalan, Matrin and I were never trained for the kind of fighting we faced at Russani. Hades' regimen was meant to ensure that we'd always have sufficient training to deal with any situation. We had some of the hardest simulations in any Imperial wing and that's counting units like the 181st and the 128th."

Her expression told me what she thought of that, both the 181st and 128th fighter wings were legendary in the Empire as being the Imperial equivalent to units like Rogue squadron, that Hades had a harder training regimen than they did said a lot about what would have happened if the Rogues had been pitted against us. If I was in the Republic, that thought would have scared me too.

**Approximately 3 months earlier, aboard the **_**Black Knight, **_**returning from the Unknown Regions**

Garin sat with his arms folded and watched as the mission timer ticked down, Harth knew what was coming but none of the others did, this was a new mission that Vic'que had originally proposed to Harth and Garin had only just incorporated it into the simulators with a few pertinent changes. The mission briefing required Reaver group to reconnoiter the target area and eliminate a critical target, calling in the other squadrons if need be. He was sure they'd need too considering what the target was.

"Commander this is Reaver squad we have heavy resistance! I repeat the enemy is in force we need assistance now!"

"Copy that Reavers we're inbound on your position, hang in there," Garin called out. "All squadrons jump to the Reaver's position and prepare to engage."

Over the private channel Toth's voice echoed reproachfully, "what did you do to them this time?"

Garin was saved the trouble of answering when Harth spoke up, "it's a viable scenario, and you'll see it soon enough."

The simulated hyperspace tunnel collapsed as they entered realspace, Garin's sensors immediately picked up the enemy and the scattering of blue that was the Reavers.

"Oh space, is that—" Toth began.

"The _Lusankya_," Garin said, even if he was the only one who knew of it, the smile still felt good.

"There is something seriously wrong with the two of you; I just hope you realize that."

Garin chuckled, yes, it was a cruel mission but the _Lusankya _was in Republic hands now, being refitted according to intelligence. It was quite possible, even probable, that Hades would run into her sooner or later.

"It's a viable target," Harth said, mirroring Garin's thoughts. "You won't get any better if you only take on the easy tasks."

"Can I add my cred to this," Kalan piped in. "This is insane, even with the _Knight _we'd never be able to kill this thing."

"Sure we can," Matrin said cheerfully, "just give her a good case of the Trench Disease***. None of the big ladies can stand against that ailment."

Kalan sounded disturbed when he responded and Garin could just imagine him shuddering.

"You make it sound infectious."

Garin switched over to the unit channel, "Reavers pull back and form up with the rest of the wing. Diamond squadron will close and execute trench run on the bridge tower of the _Lusankya_ with Mantis in support. Wyvern and Shadow squadrons will provide fighter screen, Reavers once you pull back reengage enemy support vessels and static targets. Get to it Hades."

He took a moment to apprise the enemy positions, the _Lusankya _was at the center of the enemy formation sitting in its space dock silently, when he and Harth had designed the scenario they'd randomized the state of completion of the super star destroyer and the level of resistance and security mounted by the Republic forces. Today it seemed that the _Lusankya _wasn't up to the task of swatting down the fighters now heading towards her; however the defense stations, support ships, and fighters were more than willing to mount a defense. He watched as Diamond and Mantis let loose a rippling barrage from their missile launchers and a multi-tiered wave of ordnance soared towards the oncoming enemy who broke their formation and kicked in chaff and flare to evade the barrage. By and large their attempts worked, with only a sparse handful of missiles finding their targets and the rest left to the chaff and flare.

However the damage had been done, with their formation shattered Wyvern and Shadow were able to set upon the Republic X-wing and B-wing units with a vengeance and relative impunity as the Republic fighters tried to regain some semblance of a combat form. Hades' superiority only lasted for a few seconds while their enemies reformed but that was all the time the more experienced pilots needed to even the odds somewhat. Garin and the other squadron leaders had been careful with their placement of the clone pilots. Rather than place them in their own flight elements and risk creating a glaring weakness in each squadron, the clones had instead been put in elements with veteran pilots who they could learn from and would hopefully keep them alive long enough to learn as well. The clones still had to learn the ropes of course, but spreading them out into the different flight elements lessened the weakness and increased the rate at which the pilots could learn their trade.

Garin's mind became so involved in the furball that he'd lost track of the progress of his other units, but that's why he made sure his officers knew their business. They didn't need constant direction from a higher command. The same freedom given to the wing was given to the individual officers; it allowed a fluidity that most fighter units weren't able to replicate. A quick check of his sensor data told him all he needed to know, the Reavers had knocked out two-thirds of the defensive platforms; thankfully they were the small turreted platforms and not anything bigger. If the sim AI had placed Golans or something similar here the Reaver's task would not have been nearly so easy.

"Diamond, rockets and bombs away get clear."

"Mantis, staggered barrage; give them something to think about."

Garin wasn't facing the _Lusankya _when its bridge took the hits, but his sensors registered the collapse of the bridge shields and a moment later the bridge went up. The thing about the Diamond Blue and Star Wing's launcher set up was that unlike most fighters they could fire multiple warheads simultaneously. Two-dozen fighters firing point blank range with a multiple warhead discharge was fatal for almost anything; especially for an already damaged super star destroyer. He remembered what the _Executor _had looked like going up and smiled as he imagined _Lusankya_ going down in similar fashion, even if only in simulation.

"Hades, disengage and return to the _Knight_ we've given them a bloody nose, now let's get out of here before they give us worse."

The AI had been kind to them this time, light defenses, an underpowered and undermanned _Lusankya; _they'd have to run the scenario a few more times today to get a proper work out. And he still wanted to vent.

Author's Note: I thought I should share; Hades Wing's current fighter compliment has actually reached a full naval wing. Their current listing is as follows: 12 Avengers, 12, Defenders, 12 Gunboats, 12 Diamond Blues, 9 Howlrunners, 6 Scimitars, and counting the Skiprays (these are usually considered small gunships or corvettes in most units and aren't counted in a typical wing) then 9 Blastboats for a total of 72 fighters which is the wing size a fully staffed Imperator or Imperial would carry. So in a rather amusing accident, I've confirmed the intelligence reports of Hades being at or above full strength at Bilbringi. Oops?

*The area of the Unknown Regions where Hades was is known as the Chiss Ascendancy and is the nation-state that Thrawn hails from. Thankfully most Chiss aren't as militarily brilliant as Thrawn although they do have a military that evokes images of Spartan quality and steadfastness. The Ascendancy was having minor skirmishes with the advance guard of the Yuuzhan Vong decades before the rest of the galaxy had even heard of them; the fact that they not only survived these incursions but repelled them is testament to the quality of their forces.

**Those not summoned by the Emperor, specifically those whose loyalties might be suspect, were left entirely unaware of the plans of the Emperor and left to wonder at the disappearance of those who were recalled to Byss. Given Hades reputation it is highly doubtful that Palpatine would have risked recalling the unit and risk them revealing his plans prematurely despite their abilities.

***Trench Disease: term coined by the Alliance after the attack method used on the first Death Star and later applied to numerous large warships that couldn't deal with smaller fighters flying in too close to their hulls and thereby preventing target acquisition and tracking.


	39. Chapter 38

**Approximately 3 months earlier, aboard the **_**Black Knight, **_**returning from the Unknown Regions**

Garin was rather pleased with the results of the training, the wing had gone through a total of nine runs against the _Lusankya _there had been one repeat of the first mission, very light resistance with minimal casualties—the two runs combined didn't amount to a dozen 'dead'—the other runs had been less forgiving. Of the seven other runs they'd managed to succeed in five of them; crippling the _Lusankya_—realistically speaking Hades could never destroy the warship completely, the best they could do was destroy some vital component such as the bridge or engines—despite the sim's attempts to 'kill' them and doing a fine job of it he might add. Of the remaining two runs, they'd been forced to withdraw; in one case because additional Republic forces had entered the system and in another case because the _Lusankya _had been fully functional and inflicted heavy damage, nearly half of Hades had been 'killed' in that one. Remarkably, in three of the other scenarios the static defenses had been very heavy, not the little popguns of the first run but full blown battle stations with armament approaching capital ship levels. Sure they had taken losses, but Hades had still hit hard and come through victorious.

The clones had performed with surprising ferocity and efficiency, he'd never put them through their paces in such a manner before and hadn't been certain of their performance in such a heavily contested environment. He was pleased to say that he knew he could rely on their skill if not experience. The latter would come with time, of that he was sure, just from this exercise he'd observed major changes by the clones, their capacity to learn was very impressive. Despite his reservations about using clones in this war and risking another Clone Wars scenario he had to admit that they were good men, and the occasional women, to have on your side; Thrawn had picked good stock. He tossed the datapad onto his bunk and stepped into the fresher station, he'd have liked to take an actual shower but airfreshers* were the norm on any sanely built warship; he'd live. He was enjoying the wash as best he could when his terminal chimed, he sighed and killed the airflow before throwing his uniform on again and sitting down at the terminal as it let out another insistent call.

"Yes?"

"Grand Admiral Thrawn just sent a message sir; we've received rendezvous coordinates with the main fleet."

Garin checked the coordinates and his eyes narrowed, "that's pretty close to the coreworlds."

"Yes sir," Iriana responded, "I think the Grand Admiral is going for the jugular this time."

Garin felt a smile creep over his features, this must be the big hit, or close to it if Thrawn was going to hit one of the prime systems in the galaxy. It should be interesting, it was good that he'd spent this trip training his people; they were probably going to need it for this.

"Alright, drop us out of hyperspace to plot the new course**. We don't want to miss out on whatever this is."

Between this bit of news, and the training session he was feeling better; not excellent, but better.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"That was the attack on Coruscant wasn't it."

"Yep, and I was less than pleased when I figured that out."

Deana blinked and looked at me curiously, "why?"

"I still had family there remember? My cousins and sister, I didn't speak with them very much it's true but they were still important to me."

"It's funny, but you spent so much time creating Hades that I forget you had any other family."

I snorted and shrugged, "I grew up with my sister taking care of me, my cousins bringing in the money for the four of us. It wouldn't exactly be a great kindness for me to forget about them."

"So you were conflicted about the attack, what happened?"

I smiled at her and leaned back in my chair, stretching languidly; that had been one of the few times I had defied Thrawn directly.

**Earlier that month, Inner Rim territories, aboard the **_**Chimaera**_

Garin sat in the briefing room aboard the _Chimaera; _there were only command level officers, those in command of fighter units or capital ships, present. He looked around the room quietly as Pallaeon continued to explain the operation; Hades' isolation did have some unpleasant side effects. No one knew who he was and he didn't know who most of the officers were. Well that wasn't entirely true, he saw two familiar faces, Maarek and Vic'que were sitting on the opposite end of the holotank, both saw him.

"Let me reiterate," Pallaeon said looking around the room, "this is not an invasion, this is a siege. I do not want to see any atmospheric runs unless it is directly ordered. We will not be using ground troops during this battle. Our entire purpose is to buy enough time for the fleet to initiate the Grand Admiral's plan and then we will leave the area."

"With all due respect Captain," someone called out from the darkened crowd. "What kind of damage are we supposed to inflict if we don't directly engage?"

"You will engage any forces that move to intercept the fleet. The Home Guard Fleet is light compared to their field fleets. Provided they are not reinforced this will be quick and easy; the largest danger are the Golan platforms. Most of the battle stations are still in place and as all of you know even Golan Is and IIs are armed to take on small to mid sized capital ships and IIIs can take on a star destroyer. So do not get drawn into their firing lines, you will not be getting any assistance if you do."

"What exactly are the capital ships expected to deploy?"

"Asteroids," came a calm critical voice from the door.

Everyone turned to see Thrawn striding into the room, he didn't look at anyone as he passed and joined Pallaeon by the hologram of Coruscant.

"We will be placing asteroids in orbit around Coruscant; the purpose will be to effectively blockade the planet without the need for wasting valuable ships in a prolonged action."

One of the captains snorted, "forgive me Grand Admiral, but won't the Republic simply shoot them down?"

Thrawn smiled, that same superior smile Garin recognized and he felt a smile of his own creep across his features as Thrawn answered.

"They will be cloaked, and we will make it appear as if we are playing hundreds of them in orbit. The Republic will have no idea how many there actually are and will be forced to maintain the planetary shields or risk damage from the asteroids' impact. This will remove Coruscant from the war indefinitely if not permanently while the Republic scrambles to find a solution and we continue our expansion."

Garin liked the plan, it was a stroke of genius, it really was. However there was one problem: his sister was still on Coruscant. Looking at the plan as Thrawn displayed in detail what he expected everyone to do, he frowned worriedly. There was a lot that could go wrong and get people killed. He had to make sure his family wasn't among the dead.

"Commander!"

Garin turned to find Vic'que pushing her way through the crowd to catch up to him; he paused and waited for her.

"Captain Sajuuk," he said formally.

She snorted and looked at him disbelievingly, "since when did you get stiff?"

"When Thrawn beat me back into shape," he said with a smile as they began walking together. "How has the one-eight-one treated you?"

"It's not like Hades; for one thing we're not actually a full wing, more like a reinforced squadron."

"Attrition," he asked without needing the answer.

She nodded, "there just aren't enough pilots that are qualified to fly with us. One thing I miss about Hades though."

He waited expectantly for her to continue and she obliged, "more women. There is one other woman in the unit and that's it, and she's not even a lieutenant."

"Quite a change," Garin said. "Are you still flying Interceptors?"

She nodded, "no change really, we did get a nice boost though. The latest models have expanded electronic suites and even shields."

"Shields," Garin repeated in surprise, that didn't sound very Imperial.

Vic'que nodded and smiled, "Thrawn had all of the elite squadrons modified like that. The 128th and 181st were the first to get it. Something about us being vital combat assets that the Empire could ill-afford to lose."

Garin snorted, "well maybe the Empire is changing for the better. Next thing you know squadrons and wings will start operating independently from capital ships."

She chuckled, "sounds familiar."

"Well we were designed to use the Alliance's tactics against them, and we did it rather well I recall." He paused and a smile crept over his face, "we played your scenario."

"You do realize it was designed as a scenario for a potential suicide mission in case we ever had to face Isard."

He smiled at her expression and nodded, "yes I realize that. Harth and I went over some tweaks for it to make it more relevant."

"Relevant, how can you make it more relevant?"

"Simple, what would happen if the _Lusankya _was refitted in time for this war? Someone will need to take her out."

She stared at him for a moment, then started laughing, "that does sound like you. Preparing Hades for a crazy mission that might not ever have any relevance."

"Have you had any clones assigned to your unit?"

She shook her head, "no, but there are thousands on the Katana Fleet dreadnaughts."

"The Katana Fleet," he looked at her disbelievingly.

She nodded, "I was skeptical too until I saw all the dreadnaughts and their markings. Thrawn found it somehow and managed to get away with nearly all of them***. He's been using them to some degree or another in all of our operations."

"I see, that would explain a lot, those old dreadnaughts are supposed to be sturdy. Wha—"

"You aren't trying to recruit her are you Durives?"

They both turned to find Maarek Stele watching them with a stern expression on his face, Garin saluted.

"Major, and no, her choice was to remain one-eight-one, I'm not going to go against that."

Maarek eyed him dubiously causing Garin to grin, "you aren't still mad at me for that trick when Isard sent you after us are you?"

His eyes narrowed and Vic'que stepped between the two, staring dangerously at Maarek, "sir I don't think you need anything from the Commander."

Maarek looked at her for a moment, and then back at Garin before scowling, "I guess it shouldn't have surprised me."

Garin could hear the insult but took it as a compliment, "yes sir, you should have."

Vic'que rolled her eyes and turned on him now, "don't provoke him Garin. You are supposed to be on the same side."

Garin continued to smile and shrugged, "sorry."

Maarek's eye twitched, "just because you've never taken your loyalty seriously—"

"The Commander has always taken his loyalty very seriously Major, I would appreciate it if you would not force an encounter aboard my ship. If you must settle this, why don't you take it to the simulators?"

Thrawn was no where in sight, Garin and Vic'que both looked up at the nearest holocam; was Thrawn spying on them?

Maarek seemed to think so as he sighed disagreeably and looked at Garin quietly, "The Grand Admiral is right—"

"I'm so glad you agree Major," Thrawn said in a patronizing tone.

"—so let's put our past behind us now."

Garin nodded, "I can't think of anything that would better suit the situation."

Maarek nodded, "I'll see you in space Durives."

As he left, Vic'que shook her head and glared at Garin.

"I do still care for him; try not to get him into trouble."

"If he wants to pick a fight with me—"

"Then you will let him do it and ignore him," Thrawn's voice boomed.

Garin sighed, "yes sir."

"Good," Thrawn said darkly, "now get to your ship."

He nodded and clasped Vic'que's hand tightly, "good luck Vic'que. Keep out of trouble."

"You too sir, you tend to look for it."

Garin sat at his terminal, staring at the email message he was about to send, it would get there before the fleet did, and if the Republic intercepted it and read it the fleet could walk right into an ambush. His only hope was that no one would look for an email going through the public channels. He read it again to himself:

_Sel, we're coming for a visit. Get ready for a party; we're going to rock the planet._

_--Gar_

His finger hovered over the send key, rising and lowering slowly as he viewed the message over and over again. He didn't want to endanger the fleet, but he wasn't going to sit by and watch his sister get killed either.

"That could get you in a lot of trouble," he jumped in his seat and turned around to see Daru standing by the door.

"I didn't hear you."

"I knocked twice, and then I decided to hardwire the door."

Garin nodded absently, turning back to his terminal, Daru moved to stand next to him and looked at the email curiously.

"Do you think it's worth it?"

Garin looked up at her, studying the supple lines of her face that somehow hadn't been ruined by her trade. She reached down and tapped the send key, the email sent and he took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out finally.

"Thank you."

She shrugged, "it was important wasn't it sir?"

He chuckled and shook his head, standing up look at her, "hoping I'll get in trouble?"

Her lekku twitched uncomfortably, "I wanted to tell you that I retooled the I-7s. It isn't much, but the lasers will have a little more punch now."

"Just a little, usually you'd rip the thing apart until it was perfect."

She smiled slightly, "I can't do anything without fully stripping the fighters' weapon systems and we can't do that while we're constantly being deployed against targets. I would have done it earlier if I'd thought of it before but there were…other things."

Garin glanced at her questioningly; she looked away and turned to leave, her lekku twitching back and forth rapidly.

"Be careful today sir, we don't want to lose you."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"You sent an email to your sister just a matter of hours before the attack?"

I shrugged, feeling her disbelief and understanding it fully. It had been pretty stupid, as I'd realized at the time, but then what could I do? It was my sister.

"Did you ever find it?"

"No," she said dubiously, "your assumption was right. Messages sent through public channels weren't paid attention to; that was still a major risk. If we had—"

"Yes yes," I said waving her words away dismissively. "I know it; hell I was going into that battlezone in just a few hours remember? For all I knew Daru had just sent up red flags all over the Republic's intelligence grid and gotten us all killed."

"And yet you didn't warn Thrawn," she pointed out with a slight smile.

"It was personal, I know it could pose a serious danger for all of us, but I trusted Thrawn's ability to win."

"Just like he won here," she asked smugly.

I shrugged, "if I'm any example, no one can win all the time."

Author's Note: yes, I realize I just submitted two chapters back to back, but fanfic wouldn't let me submit at all yesterday so yeah.

*Don't ask me how they work, but they are there.

**Very few ships of any kind could re-plot a hyperspace course once it was laid in. I've only ever heard of one being able to do so and it wasn't even a military vessel.

***Thrawn was able to get 178 of 200 dreadnaughts in the Katana Fleet while the Republic received the remainder.


	40. Extra: Shielded Interceptors

Since I mentioned that the TIE Interceptors of the 181st and 128th fighter wings had been reequipped with shields I thought I would clarify why that model and others still doest not bear shields in the various stories that come after the Thrawn Trilogy.

Thrawn was notoriously conservative with his resources and he saw value in everything no matter how old or decrepit it may have been. The Katana Fleet is probably the best example of this; Thrawn committed some of his most powerful assets and a good deal of his personal attention to finding this fifty year old ghost fleet of aging warships to bolster his fleet. When he took power he immediately began equipping the less advanced TIE models with shield so very suddenly the Republic began facing Fighters, Bombers, and Interceptors as well as other previously unshielded models bearing shields. It wasn't a universal conversion and given the cost of converting them only certain units considered invaluable were so upgraded. However, given Thrawn's attitude towards the Empire's policy of expendability—that is to say he viewed it with great disdain—he likely would have made future production lines of the unshielded TIE models come standard with shields provided he had not died at Bilbringi.

There is no record of the Interceptors of the 181st or 128th actually bearing this upgrade, but given their lauded status and ability it would seem rational that Thrawn would pick them to receive this upgrade first of all the units so upgraded.

Sadly after Thrawn's eventual defeat the Empire largely reverted to its prior methodology and very few, if any, TIE models were upgraded with Thrawn's ideas in mind after his death.

Author's Note: The Thrawn Trilogy (aka Heir to the Empire Trilogy) is written by Timothy Zahn and is comprised of _Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising_, and _The Last Command. _It comes in both novelized form and graphic novel form and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Star Wars or has read my story and liked the character of Thrawn. There is also a second series of books (sometimes called The Hand of Thrawn Duology) that involve Thrawn more loosely; again by Zahn titled: _Specter of the Past _and _Vision of the Future_. Both are enjoyable reads. Most of the events I depict take place before The Thrawn Trilogy however the final chapters take place during this time and I reference events from The Hand of Thrawn Duology as well.


	41. Chapter 39

**Earlier that month, Inner Rim, Coruscant**

The Imperial fleet dropped into Coruscant orbit in multiple waves, the first wave was comprised of units like Hades that had jump capable fighters and Immobilizer Interdictor cruisers. The fighters engaged the initial Republic response fighters while the Immobilizers set up their perimeter and keyed in their gravity wells. Seconds after they powered up, the remainder of the fleet vaulted into the system with pinpoint precision only possible with the interdictor fields. The Republic had no idea what was happening. The second branch of the fleet broke off several medium and light cruisers to guard the Immobilizers while the frigates, heavy cruisers, and star destroyers moved towards the Republic defenders who were rushing to engage the Imperial forces. Garin couldn't believe how stupid they were being as the heavy cruisers and destroyers continued to execute the micro-jumps, thwarting targeting computers and weapon locks as they advanced into Coruscant's spacelanes with devastating effect.

"Here come the shields," Toth said over the com. "About time they came up."

"Fools," muttered Harth.

Garin nodded as the planetary shields came online, unlike the Empire before it, the Republic did not constantly employ the powerful shielding system constantly to ensure security. He understood the political reasons why they didn't, but to not do so during wartime just seemed stupid and foolhardy. They were certainly paying for that mistake now, he could see areas of the planet-wide cityscape that had been hit by turbolaser fire from the destroyers and cruisers*. With a private wince he ran a geographic and topographical check through his Defender's systems and sighed in relief. They were on the opposite side of the planet from his family's home. She had to be safe then and he could fight without a conflict of interest.

"Alright Hades roll them up, Shadow and Wyvern engage enemy fighters, Diamond you've got cap ship duty, Golem and Mantis continue screening the Interdictors; Reaper you have target discretion, happy hunting everyone."

Hades broke apart into its various elements and engaged the Republic forces with a vengeance; the Defense Fleet was being downright stupid if anyone cared to ask Garin as he went head to head with a flight of A-wings firing his cannons in paired linking scattering the lighter fighters. He knew better than to try and outrun them, there was no chance of that, but he could outmaneuver them. He just had to be careful of their rotating cannons. His wingmen broke off on opposite sides to follow through with their own attacks. Whoever was flying the A-wing was an idiot and got into a turning competition with him, he easily outturned the interceptor and peppered it with his cannons, the shields crumpled almost instantly and a laser burst lanced the cockpit, the fighter flew apart and Garin rode through the debris field dispassionately turning to engage his next target. He stole a glance at his sensors and snorted, the Republic fleet was being all but stupid, instead of falling back into high orbit where the defense platforms could provide covering fire they were moving to fully engage the Imperial fleet. What were they thinking? Not that he was complaining, if they wanted to throw themselves at the more heavily armed Imperial forces they were welcome to do so.

An X-wing moved to engage him and he smiled, throwing the Defender into a drop the other fighter couldn't follow and brought himself up again on the X-wing's aft. To the credit of the pilot, he managed to turn himself around using the X-wing's maneuverability and began firing into Garin's front section just as Garin too opened fire. The pair rushed past each other, Garin checking over his systems and finding his shields intact, the X-wing had maintained its defenses as well, which meant another pass. He saw two friendly blips fast approaching, they registered as Interceptors; he wondered who that would be as they made a run against the X-wing that had been tangling with him and blew it apart. His com buzzed and he keyed in the new channel.

"Sorry for taking your kill Garin, I thought you might like some company."

He chuckled, "hello Vic'que, what brings you to my end of space?"

"You looked lonely, Shadow Two and Three are off chasing some A-wings and I thought you might like company."

"Feel free to join me, think you can keep up?"

"Don't make me laugh Commander."

Garin smiled, "alright then, you cover the flanks and I'll give them something to think about."

"Provided I don't kill them first," she quipped dangerously.

The two Interceptors formed on his wings and he was pleasantly surprised to see that the latest model had an up rated engine that brought its speed closer to the Defender. Not bad at all. They zeroed in on a squadron of B-wings making a run towards a dreadnaught.

"Vic'que can your shields handle those things?"

He heard the annoyance in her, "please sir, what the shields don't absorb my skills will."

He smiled and keyed his unit com, "Mantis Lead you in the area?"

"Alive and well Shadow Lead, how can I help?"

"Feeding you targeting telemetry, care to say hello?"

Toth took a moment to respond, "got it." There was another pause as he coordinated with his flight. "Incoming, wish them well."

Garin switched channels, "Vic'que maintain distance, we've got a missile volley from Mantis coming in."

"Copy that, glad to see Luixana is making himself useful."

Garin smiled grimly as the missiles appeared on his sensors and approached the B-wings, they saw them too and broke formation, chaff and flares discharging wildly.

"You're thinking of Kalan and Matrin, they're the useless ones."

"Shadow Lead this is Shadow Four, we're moving to intercept your targets."

"Shadow Two and Three moving to rejoin you sir."

"Shadow Lead copies all, feel free to join in gentlemen; it looks like we have plenty of targets."

Indeed they did, the B-wings must have called for help because two more groups of Republic fighters were coming towards them now, it looked like two-dozen A-wings and a handful of X-wings were coming to their friends' aid. This would be interesting. The five additional Defenders formed up and joined their ad hoc formation. The B-wings certainly were bold, Garin had to give them that; the missile barrage hadn't done the amount of damage he'd hoped but it had served to scatter them somewhat. Still they were coming straight on, he wondered idly what they were configured to carry, and B-wings were notoriously hard to predict the armaments of**. They were one of the few truly modular fighters in the galaxy. Just as the B-wings and Garin's ragtag formation met each other, the A-wings caught up, the result was a vicious two wave lashing that left the Defender's shields down for the precious seconds it took for them to regain their charge. The A-wings, in Garin's opinion little better than TIE Fighters, had paid for their run though, he'd counted six going up in brief fireballs as their fuel stores lit up and died. Vic'que and her wingmate had been smart about the pass and dropped behind a Defender each, allowing the larger craft's shield to overlap and allow for additional protection.

Even given that, with the X-wings were bearing up on them now as well, this could actually get complicated.

"Commander Durives, if you're really not interested in taking the Captain back into Hades you'd better stop taking her off on these excursions of yours."

Garin was pleased to see a firestorm of laserfire rip into the X-wings in front of him, those that survived the barrage scattered frantically as the red stripes of the 181st dove in amongst them.

"Don't look at me Major, she's following me."

"Indeed," Stele responded coolly as his Interceptors joined the mounting furball.

What had started out initially as a minor dogfight ballooned into a full blown battle within a battle as both sides threw more fighters into the skirmish; soon all of Wyvern and Shadow were involved and added to the 181st. Despite the obvious superiority in skill though, whoever was in command still threw more fighters into the mix wasting lives as if he were an old school Imperial. Garin wondered just what was going through the commander's head as he blew another fighter into pieces and checked his sensors to find the Reavers moving to join the fray.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"I saw the footage of that dogfight, it was…" she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at me with a deep coldness. "Thirty-one of our pilots were killed against you and we only recorded eleven Imperials being destroyed."

"Don't blame me, I was doing my job. Whoever ordered those pilots to keep engaging when it was obvious they were outmatched is to blame."

She leaned back and regarded me quietly, "I suppose I'm just glad that General Bel Iblis took over when he did, if he hadn't, Hades and the 181st would have slaughtered even more of our pilots."

"Is he someone I should know about?"

"He's the one who recalled our forces back behind the defense platforms."

I smiled, "if you ever meet him, tell him it was a good move."

**Earlier that month, Inner Rim, Coruscant**

Garin flew his patrol pattern again, watching the Republic forces hanging out of range and within the protective reach of the defense platforms and planetary cannons. They'd finally withdrawn, it had been quite a change in tactics; from running full tilt into Thrawn's forces to forcing the Grand Admiral to decide if he wanted to risk Coruscant's static defenses. If the goal of the mission had been to capture Coruscant there would have been no question, but since the only goal was to initiate the Grand Admiral's trap there was no real need to be concerned about the Republic's retreat. His sensors registered a nearby ship being hit, a Republic frigate, there were no ships near it, no fighters either; it had to have hit one of Thrawn's asteroids. What would happen now, did this mean the Republic would find them out? He watched as a Republic dreadnaught moved in on the injured frigate, a moment later an asteroid appeared on his scope, they must have disabled the cloaking device; panic seized him for a moment. Then the asteroid vanished, fragmenting into dozens of smaller pieces. He hadn't been facing the incident, and had no idea who had shot the floating rock, but he'd bet it was the Grand Admiral showing the Republic what was in their skies without letting them have a good look at the technology behind it.

"All ships, withdraw, mission complete. I repeat, mission complete."

At Pallaeon's words Garin punched his throttle and swung towards the _Knight_, his com unit buzzed and he keyed the channel.

"Commander Durives," Stele's voice sounded forced, even ragged.

"Major, what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier. I wouldn't have done it, but thank you."

Stele had been hit earlier, his fighter disabled and cockpit breached; Garin had used his Defender's micro tractor beam to pull Stele back to the safety of the star destroyers where the warships could recover him. Colonel Turr Phennir had complimented him on saving his second in command and even gone so far as to offer Garin a place in the 181st. Garin had immediately declined and he got the feeling that Phennir had been insulted by the sudden refusal, but that was not Garin's concern, he had his unit. Stele and Phennir had theirs.

"Are we done now," Garin asked quietly.

"Yes, we're done; you know that is one thing that Captain Sajuuk says she likes about you more than me. That you'll put yourself at risk to save your subordinates; if someone made my mistake, they'd have to clean it up."

Garin chuckled and shook his head, "the Empire can't afford that kind of thinking anymore Major, it's how we got into this mess in the first place."

There was a long pause before Stele spoke once again, Garin expected some rebuke but instead Stele was thoughtful as he responded.

"Yes, you might be right about that. Fel once told me something similar."

"You should listen to him; I recall he had quite an effect on you. Take care Major, rest up and we'll fly together again sometime."

"I'll look forward to it Commander, stay alive."

Garin touched his Defender lightly into its cradle and powered down, settling the wing pylons into their clamps with the familiar metallic clank. He unsealed his helmet and sat back for a moment with his eyes closed, taking a much needed respite. The battle had been brief, no longer than an hour at most—he'd lost track of time during the furball—but it had been intense, flying in that miniature warzone. The familiar smell of ozone, liquid fuel and weapons gas assaulted his senses; to civilians these smells would be acrid and unpleasant to his military sense they were signs of home. There was a banging then, breaking his moment of bliss and he looked out of his cockpit to see Daru scowling at him on the gangway. He tucked his helmet under one arm and popped his hatch, climbing out and down onto the gangway besides her.

"What did you do to my fighters," she growled like some kind of brooding animal as her lekku spasmed angrily at her back.

Garin looked back at his Defender and felt a smile tug at his features, a smile he fought desperately to keep under control to avoid driving Daru to further ire. The Defender's paint was scorched and blackened were cannon and ordnance fire had made their marks, his portside solar panel wing had a chunk blown out of its after quarter and there was a hole in the top solar panel wing's center just forward of the support pylon. If that shot, he mused to himself, had come in at a different angle it would have penetrated the cockpit hatch and vaporized him. The damage went to show that numbers could count for something when skill was lacking. He looked down the gangway on either side and saw similar damage to greater and lesser extents to his own fighter.

"Who got it the worst," he inquired as calmly as he could.

"The Avengers and Defenders have the worst of it," she grumbled, still seething over the damage, he noticed that she forget to use 'sir' this time. "Honestly I'm surprised the Howlrunners are still in one piece if this is what our advanced models took; but they're more or less unharmed."

"What about the DBs?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, a smile crept across her features as her lekku twitched excitedly, "they barely have a scratch on them."

Garin heard the pride in her voice and couldn't help it this time, he smiled.

She caught it and scowled, "didn't I tell you not to get killed?"

"I'm not dead am I," he asked innocently.

"Your fighter looks like you might be," she grumbled.

"Can you fix them," he inquired sedately, still smiling.

Now she really became incensed and he saw a fire kindle in her eyes as she looked from him to the damaged fighter.

"Of course I can fix them," she snarled, her voice growing in intensity. "What I can't fix is nerfs like you getting them shot to pieces!"

There was a silence; the other pilots who had been on the gangway stopped and looked at her, her face went from its usual deep blue to a darker, almost purple shade as she ducked her head.

"Sorry…sir," she added sullenly.

Garin smiled and looked at his pilots pointedly, nodding them towards the ready room at the end of the gangway. After a moment they moved, most, the ones who had been with the unit for a long time, were smiling, the clones though looked uncertain. Their flash training not allowing for mechanics to speak to the commanding officers like that; guided by the veterans they were quickly shooed away from the pair as Garin continued to smile and Daru pointedly avoided his gaze. Slowly he put a hand on her shoulder; she tensed at his touch but didn't pull away when he put his arm around her shoulders and touched his forehead to the top of her lekku.

"Sorry, I'll take better care of the fighters in the future, promise."

When he released her she was trembling, practically shaking herself to pieces. He didn't take it any further than that as he let her go and turned to follow the others; he hoped that he hadn't taken the recent ease she'd been allowing herself around him for granted but really it had felt like the right thing to do in that situation given everything. However he had been drastically wrong in prior cases and this could be a very bad repeat of those cases.

"Garin," he turned back at her voice; she was staring at him quietly her light blue eyes blazing intensely. "You'll keep that promise?"

He nodded his face uncommonly solemn. "Yeah, I'll keep it."

She returned the nod slowly, a hesitant smile creeping across her face, "go do your job pilot. I'll do mine."

Author's Note: in case I have any A-wing fans in the audience that are aghast I'm beating the crap out of their favorite fighter; here's why: The A-wing has barely any shields, and it has an even weaker hull. Most of its size is taken up by its massive engines and the fuel to supply them. They are designed to be fast, not survivable and in all their incarnations they've had terrible attrition rates against more advanced TIE models such as the Defender which have the shields and armor to survive multiple passes. They are also the most widely produced fighter in the Republic, making them in many ways the Rebel/Republic TIE Fighter equivalent. So using the example of the A6M Zero, when fast, light craft come up against heavier, more agile fighters they tend to get trounced. So against equally armed and armored (or lack thereof) craft such as TIE Bombers, Fighters, Interceptors etc they would do quite well but against Defenders especially (and probably Avengers as well) they'd have to be very well handled to have a chance which these weren't. It should also be noted that while the A-wing is faster than the Interceptor, the Interceptor is far more maneuverable (quoted as being able to 'fly circles around an X-wing'). This would mean that if an A-wing got into a turning dogfight with an Interceptor (the Defender and Avenger were similarly maneuverable though as larger craft to a lesser degree) it would be hard pressed to keep the Interceptor off its tail. The only real hope it would have would be to use its superior speed to pull away and out of range of the Interceptor and come back for another pass.

*The Imperial line of battle is roughly like this from smallest warship to largest: frigate, light, medium, heavy cruiser, and destroyer. Frigates are generally used to screen the larger cruisers and destroyers from starfighters. Cruisers fill a variety of roles (i.e. battleship, carrier, escort etc) depending on size, armament, and equipment they carry and there are cases (such as at Bakura) when destroyers are not available and cruisers form the backbone of a fleet. Destroyers are the battleships and carriers of the fleet and their purpose is to move into range of the enemy and hit hard while deploying fighters. There are other classes of warship that the Empire uses however these are the most commonly occurring in major fleet actions.

**B-wing design allows them to switch their armaments to various configurations relatively easily and in very little time. This customizable nature has led to many pilots becoming personally attached to their craft and it is not uncommon for ships in the same squadron to have completely differing armaments.


	42. Extra: TIE Dynasty

Just because I can and I needed a little breather to get myself set for the next chapter I figured I would explain how the TIEs that Hades use got into business for those that don't know the story. For those that do, amuse a tired old writer. It should be noted that I do not claim this to be 100% accurate; it is based on my personal knowledge of the material from what I've read over the years. There may well be other versions of this development but this is the version I am applying for my story.

Prior to the Clone Wars Sienar Fleet Systems (then known as Republic Sienar Systems) developed a courier ship design for long range personnel transport (Darth Maul used a variant of this ship). Just before the Battle of Geonosis and the start of the Clone Wars Sienar began design of a starfighter based off this courier ship. This new fighter was dubbed the T.I.E. Fighter and was ready just in time for the war that followed and went into mass production for the newly formed Republic Navy which needed a cheap, mass production fighter to fill its ranks swiftly.

During the Clone Wars the T.I.E. served along other starfighters such as the Alpha-3 Nimbus V-wing and the Eta-2 Actis light interceptor. Sienar saw in these ships features that could be incorporated into the T.I.E. model and began designing an improved variant. When the Clone Wars ended and the Republic became the Empire and the subsequent Imperialization began Sienar was among the first to step up with a new fighter design that could replace the myriad of fighters formally used by the Republic. This was the TIE/In or TIE Fighter.

This new design was so successful that numerous variants were built, all on the basis of a small centrally located cockpit flanked by large solar panel wings. As the Empire grew in power these TIE/In based designs began to fall behind other starfighters being produced by other groups and Sienar was called upon yet again to further develop their design. The result was the TIE Advanced x1 (the starfighter was gifted to Lord Darth Vader as both a gift and a promotion for the fighter in the hopes that Vader's recommendation would lead to fleet service). This new fighter was worlds more powerful and capable than the prior TIE/In however it was far more expensive.

Because of this expense, only limited numbers of them were ever produced, however the research gained from their production resulted in the next stage of TIE development. The TIE/si or TIE Bomber and the new TIE/In or TIE Interceptor. Both of these designs proved satisfactory, the Bomber, much like the previous Fighter produced numerous variants around the time of the Battle of Yavin (boarding craft, shuttles, and other bomber types as well as a myriad of others) and the Interceptor entered fleet service just after the Death Star was destroyed; in time to take part in the follow up assaults on Yavin base and other Alliance facilities.

Sienar continued to improve upon what had turned into one of their greatest successes and continued to advance new models whenever possible resulting in dozens of TIE designs that saw varying levels of use. Eventually the TIE/ad or TIE Avenger was created, a further development of the original Advanced x1; once again it was deemed too expensive and like its predecessor saw very limited use in special or elite squadrons despite being a match for most other starfighters then in use. Sienar never stopped developing their design however and shortly after the Avenger was developed they once against released a new model.

This was the TIE/D or TIE Defender. A heavy starfighter designed to kill anything else that flew. These new starfighters surpassed everything Sienar had produced to that point and was arguably better than most of the starfighters in use by the Alliance to Restore the Republic (Rebel Alliance) as it was faster and more heavily armed than any prior TIE model. Once again Imperial doctrine got in the way, the Imperial tactic of throwing dozens if not hundreds of cheap fighters at an enemy was too heavily entrenched for this new fighter to gain any significant ground and like the Avenger it saw very limited use with special or elite units.

While the TIE Fighter, Interceptor, and Bomber and their variants continued to be the principal starfighters of the Imperial Fleet, ships like the Avenger and Defender became specialist starfighters, only in use by units like Hades or individuals who required a powerful transport. Even decades after the Empire's defeat at Endor the principal of the cheap disposable fighter held sway. The only advanced TIE design to ever see mass production on the scale of the Fighter, Interceptor, and Bomber was the Scimitar Assault Bomber.

There are literally dozens of TIE variants all having their roots in the original Star Courier design and later T.I.E Starfighter. In addition to the numerous Imperial models produced there are numerous non-Imperial designs such as the so called Uglies (composites of TIE and other starfighters) Zsinj's TIE Raptors, and Zaarin's TIE Experimental lines.


	43. Chapter 40

**Earlier that month, Inner Rim, aboard the **_**Black Knight **_

_Gar, hope you're not too beat up after that party. Had a really wild time but wait a little while before your next visit okay? We're still recovering from all the excitement._

_Love you, stay safe._

_--Sel_

Garin smiled as he read the message from his sister, he'd been pretty sure that she'd escaped the attack unscathed despite everything, after all the attack had taken place on the opposite side of the planet, but still, to get a message from her letting him know that she was alive and well was worth any security risk. Of course now he had to trust that the Republic wouldn't decide to drop the planetary shields and just let the asteroids fall at will. That didn't seem to be their style, so with luck his sister would be safe for the time being.

His com buzzed and he picked it up, "what is it?"

"Mantis and Reaver are returning from the raid sir, I thought you might like to hear their report."

Garin nodded, standing up quickly, "I'll be at the debriefing. Thank you Orliss."

Slipping his com back into its carrying case he switched off his terminal and opened the door to find Sissir leaning against the wall in the hallway.

"Was going to ask you to come to our training session," she said with a smirk. "Sounds like you've got other plans though, care to stop by afterwards?"

"Going to thrash the clones again Major?"

She shrugged, stepping off the wall as they walked together down the hall.

"If they're supposed to be the best genes can create. I'm not impressed; I'll get them up to par if it kills them."

Garin chuckled and shook his head, "I'll come by once the debriefing is finished."

"I'll hold you to that," she said with a wave as they parted ways. "You need a good thrashing too."

Garin sighed, wondering what he'd done this time as he headed towards the debriefing. Maybe he'd bring Toth along to lessen the beating.

He entered the briefing unobtrusively, the room was dimly lit as Commander Kindran went over the mission with Mantis and Reaver squadrons. Their task had been fairly straightforward: hit a Republic logistic station and cripple its ability to distribute supplies to fleet elements in the sector. Diamond had been on standby should they be needed but from the sounds of it the two squadrons had done a fairly good job of knocking the place about themselves; which was part of the problem actually. Imperial Intelligence had reported that this facility was heavily used by the Republic Defense Force, and yet the defenses had been light at best. The defenses had been predominantly static in nature with just the bare minimum of mobile support which was certainly counter-intuitive if you wanted to effectively defend an important facility. The rest of the briefing was routine at best and Garin paid little attention; there had been no casualties and nothing of note aside from the lackluster performance of the defenders.

As the pilots filed out he caught Toth's eyes and nodded towards Commander Kindran who stood by the holotank waiting patiently. The pair joined him as the last of the pilots left the briefing room, Garin starred intently at the information being displayed in the tank.

"Where are they," he said with a scowl, "this facility was supposed to have a small task force guarding it."

"Two gunships, three corvettes and a trio of frigates with roughly four squadrons of fighters," Kindran supplied helpfully.

"Yeah so where are they," Toth repeated Garin's question with a flicker of annoyance. "We went in there expecting a fight and we ended up taking on a single fighter squadron, the two gunships and one of the corvettes with some pop gun defense platforms."

"So the question is," Kindran continued thoughtfully, "why strip a major logistics base of its defenders. The obvious answer is that they're needed somewhere else."

Garin didn't need the school teacher tone; it wasn't hard to discern that the Republic thought they had a better use for those ships.

"Pull up all the reports of Republic strength as reported by strike units like ours."

The holotank changed to show the strength's reported, Garin nodded, "alright. Now show what intelligence reported unit strength to be in those systems."

Again the view changed, the supposed unit strength was significantly larger than what was being encountered by Thrawn's strike units.

Toth swore, "it's not just one system, this is multiple sectors being mobilized. They're going to launch a counter-offensive."

"In retaliation for Coruscant," Kindran said quietly, "yes that would make sense. The question is what target will they move towards?"

"Depends on what they hope to accomplish, the Ubiqtorate base at Tangrene," Toth said quietly, running through the list of targets he could think of. "Any of our shipyards;" he shrugged. "Spit they could even strike one of the planets that Thrawn has brought over to our side."

Garin wasn't listening as he searched for possibilities, where would the Republic gain the most. What was worth leaving their facilities and bases open to hit and run attacks the question flew around inside his mind as he stared at the galactic map divided into blue and red. This was going to be it; wherever they chose to strike they'd be doing it with everything they had and if the Empire won the engagement there'd be no stopping Thrawn. This could finally be the end of the war that had been raging over a decade.

He hadn't realized that the thought had made him hold his breath until he had to release it and draw in a new one to speak, "send this information to Thrawn. He probably knows about it already but I don't want to take any chances."

Orliss nodded, "yes sir."

"Toth, want to come save me from the Major?"

His friend snorted and held up his hands, "no thanks. I wrestle with her enough already. You're on your own Gar."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So the raiding parties that Thrawn was sending against targets behind the lines noticed the shift?"

"I don't know how many of the other commanders put two and two together. We were one of the few units that actually stayed behind Republic lines while conducting the raids so we had a continual source of intelligence. Most of the others were cruiser and frigate groups that would strike one area and then jump out before doing it somewhere else. The other fighter units that Thrawn had doing hit and run operated in much the same way, jump from Imperial space to Republic space and back again before moving to the next target. Not many commands were willing to stay in Republic space to persecute their missions;" I thought for a moment before shrugging. "In fact I can count the number of units that did on my hands."

She watched me for a moment, before adding something to her notes.

"Why did you choose to operate that way, remaining in Republic space?"

"It was simpler and more cost effective than just jumping our fighters into Republic space. Plus it was harder to detect the attacks in advance; less warning for your side. You couldn't notice we were gone because we were never in Imperial space."

She frowned, "what if the _Knight _had been drawn into a battle?"

I snorted and looked at her with a mirth filled smile, was she really asking me that question after everything I'd told her?

"You've been listening to all of this." I said, my smile growing dangerous, "you know what Hades was capable of. Do you seriously think that any unit that engaged the _Knight _directly would last very long? We had a wing of highly trained fighter pilots flying some of the most advanced starfighters the Empire has ever used. With our commandos we could have easily taken a few prizes and sent them back to Thrawn and further bolster our forces. You'd have needed to commit a sizable force to knock us out and you couldn't afford to do that given the losses you would have sustained, and especially not with Thrawn at your throats."

There was a long pause before she spoke again, her tone reluctant. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Barring sending a disproportionately large force against you there'd be very little you wouldn't have swatted away and probably even destroyed or captured."

"One thing I'm curious about," I leaned forwards intently, "why leave so many areas exposed? I understand you wanted to hit us with as much firepower as possible, but still; withdrawing that many ships and units into your strike fleets left you wide open for Hades and the others and I know our raids took a very heavy toll. Considering those freighter infiltrators you had here I hardly think you'd need the extra ships."

"We needed to make our assault as effective as possible. We wanted all of Thrawn's big hitters in play; it was an all or nothing gamble."

There was something there, when I'd mentioned the infiltrators there had been just the slightest pause, as if she'd been unsure of how to phrase her response. It made me wonder, but we had to continue. I could always ask her later, it seemed after all that I had time.

**Earlier that month, Inner Rim, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_

Garin took Sissir's kick rather well all things considered, falling into a roll that carried him out of her reach. It was true he'd been sparring with her all these years but he was still no where near her level when it came to close quarters combat. Whatever notions of the inferiority of women that may have been indoctrinated by the academy had been just as effectively scrubbed by her and others among Hades' number; she could wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat and they both knew it. She just had the professional courtesy not to batter her CO into the same bruised state as she did her own commandos. The clone members of her unit looked especially ill used though they didn't seem to mind, watching the match intently as if it were a sporting event. These sparring matches were so common that the veterans simply went about their business, paying the pair little mind unless something of note occurred. His eyes widened as he got back on his feet and realized she'd closed the gap in an alarmingly short span of time. Sissir leapt forward and delivered her knee straight into his diaphragm, clearing his lungs of any air that had been there. He collapsed in a heap on the mat, banging his open hand against it in surrender as he tried to breath.

The room had gone dead silent and he supposed that this had qualified as something of interest for the commandos both clone and otherwise. He got up on his knees and looked at Sissir incredulously.

"Wha—" he took a gasping draw of air, "what was that supposed to be?"

"Disabling," she said tritely, sitting down next to him, he glowered at the gleam of amusement in her eyes.

"It worked," he hacked.

"I know, I like that move, most opponents don't expect it to be a threat; they think it's too slow."

Garin managed a snort as his breathing began to normalize, "too slow my backside. I didn't have a chance to react."

"Sleight of hand, I let you think you'd gotten clear, it gave me the opening I needed. Probably wouldn't work on professionals."

"Okay, so you've gotten me on the mat, what now?"

She shrugged, looking around at her people who had been quietly edging closer to them. They instantly scattered under her gaze, Garin couldn't help his smile. Yes, any woman that could perform well enough in the Naval Commandos to make major was bound be well feared by her subordinates.

"Daru's pretty confused right now you know," she said conversationally.

"Makes two of us," Garin replied incredulously, was that what the beating was about?

"I suppose, I just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to do anything intentional. She'd made up her mind to stop caring you know."

Garin felt something grab at his heart strings, yes, he'd assumed as much when Hades had first reformed and she'd made every effort to avoid or ignore him; whichever was more suited to a given situation.

Sissir continued when he made no verbal reply, "I'm loyal to this unit, to you, but Toth and Daru mean a lot to me sir. I've never had a little sister before and I don't want you doing any more damage to her."

Garin snorted, so that was what was going on, Hades was still surprising him it seemed.

"Don't worry, I'm being careful."

She nodded appreciatively, standing and helping him to his feet.

"That's part of why she's confused actually, but don't worry she's not going to pull another stunt like locking herself in the hangar."

Garin looked at Sissir helplessly, Daru was confused because he was being cautious about their new relationship and trying not to hurt her? What the hell was he supposed to be doing?

She apparently saw his bewilderment because she smiled, "don't worry sir. We're women. If we made sense we wouldn't be any fun now would we?"

Garin snorted, shaking his head. "I'm not too sure about that."

"Good match today Commander, thanks for letting me beat you up."

"Yeah, I'll remember it next time you're up for promotion."

She chuckled, "I haven't been promoted since this unit was formed sir, I won't hold my breath."

Garin lay down in his bunk and closed his eyes; the ysalmir that had made a nest in his sheets crawled out of its abode and chirruped at him inquisitively. He reached down and scratched it behind the ears soliciting a long sustained purr from the furred lizard* as it settled down on his stomach splayed out across him like a rolled rug. There was a chime from his terminal, and he looked over to see the mail icon flashing. He rolled over; the ysalmir squawked indignantly and scurried to make a fresh nest. Tapping the keypad he opened the message and Thrawn's piercing gaze jolted him to full wakefulness despite the sores from Sissir's sparring.

"Good evening Commander," Thrawn said cordially.

"Good eve—" he began.

"I've received your information and have drawn similar conclusions." A recording Garin realized with a frown, normally Thrawn contacted him directly. That meant that those conclusions of his were keeping him busy. Not good. "I want Hades to meet the _Chimaera _for a private briefing; by the time you arrive here I should have a good idea of what the Rebels intend. Abort any current operations and set your course immediately, the usual codes and algorithms apply. I expect you here soon Commander, do not keep me waiting."

Thrawn's face faded away and Garin grabbed his comlink, "Iriana?"

"Yes Commander?"

"We're aborting our mission, set a course for the _Chimaera_."

There was no question in her voice, "yes sir. The Admiral thought of something?"

He smiled, of course Orliss would have told her about their findings, "so it seems. He's waiting for us."

"Then we don't want to make him wait, we'll get underway immediately."

Garin couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had been settling in his stomach since he'd seen the data on the Republic fleet strengths in the galaxy. Yes, this was going to be big, probably as big as Endor. He just hoped he'd see a different outcome this time.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So Thrawn was already formulating his own ideas about our intentions," Deana said quietly.

I nodded, "is it that surprising? We were waiting for you, armed and raedy."

"I still find it hard to believe, even after all the preparation. After all the effort we made to make Tangrene look like the real target and he still saw right through us and knew what we would do."

I couldn't help smiling at her, "I know, pity he died isn't it?"

She glared at me, no; I suppose she wouldn't think it was a pity. Personally I think the galaxy had lost more than it had gained by his death.

Author's Note: Dear god, it is getting close isn't it? I don't know what I'll do once this is finished, it will be so dull around here.....

*Don't ask me what the heck they're supposed to be, all I know is that they're described reptile-ish but have fur. I'm just going off of the visuals given from their various appearances in canon.


	44. Chapter 41

**Earlier that week, Inner Rim Territories, star destroyer **_**Chimaera**_

"They will require a crystal gravity trap* to deal with our asteroids. There are a limited number of places they can acquire such an item," Thrawn said methodically.

Garin watched as the Admiral examined the star charts floating around his command chamber, glancing over at Pallaeon briefly, seeing the other man's discomfort put himself slightly more at ease in Thrawn's presence.

"What about the attack on Tangrene? The forces massing in that sector can't be going after anything else."

Thrawn's mouth twitched in a smile, "Captain you fail to understand our opponents. As much as they consider themselves a legitimate government with a legitimate military they are still rebels. They cannot think in any way other than that of a rebel; feints and skirmishes are their forte. Not prolonged fleet actions. They would not assault a facility as fortified as the Ubiqtorate for fear of losing too many assets in the ensuing battle; and any hit and run would fail to do significant damage."

"It is a feint," Thrawn said conclusively, to his credit Pallaeon didn't push the issue further as the Admiral continued. "If they are going to strike, it will be as they attempted to do so at Endor; the Tangrene forces are far too obvious to be their main force even if they intend to hold the line against the defenses there."

"So the question is," Garin spoke finally, drawing the attention of the two flag officers, "where can they acquire a crystal gravity trap and of those locations which will be the least costly to raid."

Thrawn smiled and nodded, "very good Commander, Captain this is what you must aspire to do. Think unorthodoxly; think as your opponents would. The Commander is rather uniquely suited to this operation as his unit has been designed to fight like the Rebels themselves do."

Pallaeon shifted uneasily, "yes Admiral." His gaze turned to Garin, "well Commander, where do you believe they will strike."

Garin felt the joined stares to be a little oppressive, Thrawn's was easy to deal with; it was that same expression he always wore when he was educating his subordinates. Pallaeon's was quietly resentful, but to the man's credit it was open. Most flag officers when told to listen to a fleet officer would have chaffed and ignored anything Garin would have had to say. Pallaeon at least was willing to listen. It occurred to Garin that Thrawn was grooming his successors, or if not his successors, at least his lieutenants for his new Empire. The idea that the Grand Admiral might intend for Pallaeon and Garin to serve with him in a major role in this newest incarnation of the Empire sent chills through his body. He cleared his mind of thoughts of power, focusing back on the task at hand; everything in its own time. At this moment he was an officer and a pilot, nothing more. If Thrawn had greater plans for him, then he'd tell Garin when the time came.

"Kuat and Bilbringi would be the most convenient targets; Kuat is too heavily defended, even Zsinj** was careful about attacking the facilities there. I don't see the Republic," Thrawn frowned and Garin quickly amended himself, "the Rebels; being overly eager to test Kuats latest defense systems. They learned from Zsinj's assault. The Rep—Rebels need to attack a facility that doesn't have its own massed defense force."

"So the only viable option, assuming that Tangrene is a feint," Pallaeon said skeptically with a glance at Thrawn; "is Bilbringi."

"Very good Captain, Commander. They will strike at Bilbringi, so we must be ready for them here when they arrive. I've already made the necessary arrangements and the rest of our forces should be joining the _Chimaera _shortly."

Thrawn looked directly at Garin, "I've sent the necessary stores to the _Black Knight_ Commander. I thought you might be in need of replenishment."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"_You _thought of the attack on Bilbringi?"

"No, Thrawn did," I responded with an amused smile at her disbelieving tone. "He'd already made his mind up about where your forces would be striking. He was just humoring himself and educating Pallaeon and I; we were his principle students." I shrugged, "as far as I know we were his only students."

She looked at me worriedly, "Thrawn considered you his pupil?"

Again I shrugged, realistically I hadn't been in Thrawn's presence enough to be considered his student; but I think he did take a very personal interest in my career and certainly steered it in and my thinking in the direction he felt would best benefit his plans.

"I think Pallaeon was more his prodigy than I was, true I'd known Thrawn longer, but if we were students, then I was home schooled while Pallaeon attended the lectures in person. Draw your own conclusions from that."

The expression she had on her face was uneasy, I had to smile at her did she really believe that either Pallaeon or I could be another Thrawn? We'd both learned from him it was true, I practically owed my existence to him; but Thrawn was a genius, singular and not transmutable. No one could ever be another Thrawn, even his clone would be just that, a copy of the original if it ever woke. I had no aspirations to lead fleets and certainly not empires, what Pallaeon would do from this point on was anyone's guess but the fight was over for me.

"So the fleet began to build up," she prompted suddenly, seemingly very eager to put the unpleasant thought of Thrawn's pupils out of her mind.

I smiled; she hadn't noticed the pause when I'd omitted the cloaking shield that Thrawn had given Hades. Why the Republic was being so simple about all this was anyone's guess, but I suppose they assumed that I'd given up entirely.

**Earlier that week, Inner Rim Territories, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_

"A cloaking device," Iriana said incredulously, tossing the datapad down on her desk with a frown. "What does the Admiral think we'll do with that?"

"Hide I suppose," Garin said with a smile that earned him a scowl from Iriana.

"Seriously Garin, those things are useless, you can't see a krigged thing once you activate them and what's worse is that you need to expose yourself to get any intelligence on the outside."

Garin shrugged as Daru looked between the pair, her brain tails swishing back and forth pensively remaining quiet as Iriana continued.

"Does he realize the power strain that will have on our generators? We aren't a destroyer; we don't have the power plant to operate that beast in parallel with our other systems."

"Actually," Daru spoke up, drawing their gaze to her. "I've been looking over the specifications and I think we can power it. If the old Dreadnaught heavy cruisers can manage and still fire their weapons I don't see why we can't."

Iriana snorted, "engineering is not going to like this. Besides Chief, you don't normally handle that section of the ship. Do you know what you're talking about?"

Daru stiffened but continued, "yes Captain, I believe I know exactly what I'm talking about. I may work on fighters almost exclusively but I know how to route a power coupling. Don't forget who kept this ship running after the unit disbanded."

"Alright that's enough," Garin broke in before anything got out of hand, "if Daru says we can install it then we can install it. I'll have engineering work with her on it and see what they can come up with. In the meantime, the Admiral has sent us a timetable for the battle. He expects the Republic will be hitting Bilbringi in the next few days."

Iriana nodded, "I don't like this. I'm still not convinced that the Republic is going to hit us here. If all the intelligence says Tangrene and the Ubiqtorate, why are we so convinced that they'll be here instead?"

"There's nothing for them at the Ubiqtorate," Garin said, "sure they could knock out our intelligence command, but Thrawn has been handling the intelligence angles during this entire campaign almost exclusively. They need a CGT, without it they'll never be certain if Coruscant is safe or not."

Iriana nodded though she looked far from convinced, "alright, I'll set engineering on this cloaking shield. I assume you'll be training as usual?"

Garin nodded, "that's the plan."

"Good luck to all of us then," she said with a tight smile. "And here's to hoping this war will finally end."

"You know it's kinda scary thinking about the war ending. I mean from the sounds of it this won't be the end right?"

Garin looked over at Kalan and shrugged, "they have two fleets; the larger of the two is being used to hit Tangrene. Thrawn believes the second fleet will strike us here and that their best units will be concentrated here."

"So if we beat them here, then they'll lose the backbone of their fleet," Matrin said thoughtfully.

"It'll be Endor in reverse," Harth added quietly, sipping his caf.

"That's what bothers me," Kalan retorted, "we thought we had Endor in the bag remember? There was no way they could get us and now we're doing the same thing over again. What if they've got another trump card lined up? What if Thrawn's wrong and we get beaten?"

"Then we move on and keep going," Harth said, "that's what Hades is, we survive, we keep surviving and we move on."

"And what if the war actually ends," Kalan persists, "because we do beat them and they surrender or something else happens and the war ends anyways. We're a fighting unit, what do we do when there is nothing left to fight?"

"It's politics Kal," Toth joined in, "there will always be someone to fight. It will never change. If it isn't the Republic then it will be someone else. We will have enemies regardless of the outcome."

"I just get the feeling that we need to think about our future," Kalan murmured uncertainly.

Everyone was silent for a long time as they nursed their drinks and considered what he'd just said. It seemed like it might just keep going that way, then Matrin looped an arm over Kalan's shoulders.

"You aren't supposed to be the depressing one, the Commander and Harth are, what are you thinking?"

Garin snorted and looked over at Harth who remained totally stoic, "why am I the depressing one?"

"Oh that's easy," Matrin continued. "You're the one that gets us into all the trouble. Do you know how peaceful it was without you around?"

Toth snorted and shook his head, "see that Gar? You're loved."

Garin nodded, "so I see."

He looked at Kalan and noted that his usual smile was back in place, that was good, at least being the target of Matrin's commentary had cheered him up somewhat. It did make him wonder though, how many of Hades number were having similar doubts. It was no secret that this next battle would be big by any stretch of the term. It would likely tip the scale permanently one way or the other for the remainder of the conflict. Everyone remembered the last time a battle like that had been fought, and Endor had not been a pleasant experience for anyone.

His com buzzed, "Durives."

"Captain Pallaeon just landed in a shuttle sir; he wants to speak with you."

Garin blinked and looked around at the others in the lounge before standing, "where is he?"

"He's waiting in the debriefing room sir."

"Thank you."

Garin excused himself with a frown, now what?

Pallaeon turned as Garin entered the room, "Commander."

"What can I do for you Captain," Garin asked as he joined Pallaeon besides the holotank and frowned at the imagery. "Planning the upcoming battle?"

Pallaeon remained quiet for a moment before speaking, "trying to predict how the Admiral will fight it."

Garin chuckled, "good luck Captain. I'm not sure that anyone can fully predict what Thrawn will do."

Pallaeon nodded, "perhaps you're right, but I will still try."

"Did you need something Captain, if you just wanted to discuss the Admiral's battle plans you could have called."

"I thought this might be better done in person. I know you still blame me for the aftermath at Endor."

Garin blinked, looking at the Captain in surprise, did he sound guilty? More importantly did he seriously think that Garin required an apology for Endor? What had been done had been done and while they could stand around discussing it till the galaxy collapsed it would do no good for either of them.

"There's nothing to explain or apologize for Captain. You made a judgment you thought was sound; I can resent you for that, but I can't fault you. I've made my share of judgments that were called into question."

Pallaeon looked at Garin appraisingly, "I think I understand why Thrawn created you and this unit."

Garin remained silent, his expression politely curious. He had his own ideas about why Thrawn had created Hades and given it to Garin but he wasn't above listening to other opinions.

"The Admiral," Pallaeon finally said, "sees people like you as a vital asset. He speaks about how the Empire must change if it is to survive. You were his prototype, you and Hades. He feels that individuals who are willing to take the initiative, be innovative, and assume responsibility for the consequences are the future of the Empire. I don't know that I agree with him, I find your tactics and methods too unpredictable and reckless for a proper military organization; but I understand the Admiral's thinking and I can respect it."

Garin found himself smiling at Pallaeon's words, they weren't exactly how he'd have described Thrawn's use of Hades but it was certainly accurate he wouldn't deny that. He'd always felt that Pallaeon was nothing spectacular but Thrawn did seem to regard the Captain as his protégé so he had to have some merits.

"You may be right, and I probably think too much like our opponents for anyone on our side to feel safe but you must admit that we've been having great results."

Pallaeon nodded thoughtfully, collapsing the holotank image and extending his hand to Garin.

"Well since the Admiral has faith in both of us, shall we agree to put both our opinions behind us and cooperate under his direction?"

Garin took the proffered hand and nodded, "gladly sir."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So you and Pallaeon both thought that Thrawn planned to use Hades as the template for the greater Imperial forces?"

I shrugged, "honestly we'll never know. Certainly my unit had more success during the entirety of this war than most." I smiled at her knowingly, "enough that it got the Alliance and Republic's attention certainly."

"Yes," she said cautiously, "well Imperial units that start behaving differently tend to raise alarms."

I watched her as she tapped more notes into her pad and smiled, she was trying not to imagine what would happen if the entire Imperial Navy had been reformatted along lines similar to Hades. Of course there was only so far such a project could have been taken. After all my unit wasn't exactly the model military environment, but certainly giving more latitude to commanders to make their own decisions free of the chain of command would have allowed more ingenuity; something that was painfully lacking the Imperial forces. It had taken Russani to teach me to think out of the box and it wouldn't have been healthy for our forces if every pilot got it into his head to start thinking independently. There was a certain extent that unit cohesion was more important than personal direction.

Then again, personal freedom seemed to have served the Alliance and later Republic quite well, so perhaps a less structured and more open military mind was the key. I doubted that anyone would ever find out anytime soon given the current situation; with Thrawn dead the warlords and moffs would go back to their sectors and systems and start fighting again. There wasn't anyone in the Empire currently who had the muscle to pull them together again, and of course there was still the issue with so many units just vanishing. I had to wonder if they knew something that the rest of us didn't, or if it was just another warlord offering better pay than the Empire.

"Commander," Deana asked again, from her tone she must have called me a few times already.

I blinked, looking up from my reverie, "sorry."

She frowned as she continued, "I was asking about the buildup to the battle."

"Well there isn't much to tell," I shrugged, "Thrawn pulled in the assets that were close to the system and we got ready for a second Endor."

I laughed bitterly, "if we'd known how much like Endor it was going to be I don't think any of us would have stayed to fight."

*A crystal gravity (also called gravfield) trap is, to my knowledge, the only device in the galaxy at this time that can consistently detect a cloaked ship and in this period of time only the Empire has them though by the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War the Republic would have them as well.

**Zsinj's second super star destroyer, the _Razor's Kiss _(aka _Second Death_) was acquired during a daring and costly raid on the Kuat Shipyards.


	45. Chapter 42

**Within the last 48 hours, Inner Rim Territories, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_

"How is it?"

Daru stopped her work and squirmed out from under the maintenance shaft; pulling herself out from beneath the generator's power couplings to look at him with a scowl. The expression looked so familiar that Garin felt his heart jar as he reached down and took her hand, helping her to her feet. It always surprised him how delicate her hands felt considering how much work she did around the ship.

"Thank you," she said with a cautious smile before she looked back at the generator lines with a sigh as her lekku twitched uneasily. "I might have been a little overconfident."

"So we can't install it?"

"We can install it," she said instantly. "I just need more time."

He chuckled, "don't kill yourself. We'd be hard pressed to replace you."

"Well I'm not resting until this is done," she said resolutely, kneeling down to go back into the maze of couplings and junctions.

Garin reached down and put a hand on her shoulder softly, to her credit she didn't freeze up or panic, she simply paused in her movements as her breathing intensified. He pulled his hand away.

"Sorry, it's just another bit of equipment Daru. We're not going to need it for this battle. Take a break."

She reached up and caught his hand, pulling it back down on her shoulder; slowly she leaned her cheek against the back of the hand. She closed her eyes and leaned against him quietly.

"Thank you Garin, I know you're worried about me; but this is keeps me going. I love a challenge."

He paused, frowning slightly but eventually he nodded, cradling her face gently. "Alright, you take all the time you need."

She looked up at him with a smile that was warmer than anything he'd seen since coming back to the unit and for a moment he saw a bit of the old Daru in her eyes.

"When they said I'd find you down here, I didn't expect to find you and Blue would be going at it."

They both looked up, Daru's face fell, she let go of Garin's hand and tucked herself back into the web of machinery as Vic'que smirked at them both.

Garin scowled, though he had to admit that if she hadn't ruined the moment he would have been pleased to see her.

"What are you doing here?"

Her smirk remained in place as he walked over to her, "I thought I'd come home and say good luck to everyone. I wanted to see how the Wyvern's were getting on as well."

"And your CO just lets you leave on a whim," Garin asked incredulously as they left the reactor's maintenance shaft. Passing the swarm of droids and techs that Daru had helping her with the cloak shield on their way.

She shrugged, "well no; but we're just on standby alert. I can launch and join the unit just as easily from the _Knight _as I can the _Chimaera_."

Garin snorted as they stepped into the turbolift and it carried them up to the more habitable decks of the _Knight. _

"Have you seen any of the others?"

She nodded, leaning back against the wall.

"A few, Harth was in the sim room like always beating the crap out of his people and a good number of the others as well."

"I hope you don't mind that I gave Wyvern to Elith."

She shook her head, "Ydres is a good pilot and a better leader. She was the right choice." She grinned at him, "besides the more female officers we have the better."

"Homesick?"

She paused, a frown inching across her features, "yes I guess I am. The 181st is good but it's nothing like Hades. It isn't home."

"You could have come back you know, still could."

She shook her head with a smile as they stepped off the turbolift. "I'm with the 181st now Garin. I wouldn't want to come back and upset anything."

He shrugged, "if you think we're going to get through this without any casualties you're being a little optimistic. The Republic is better trained than the Alliance was, I expect to lose people. There'll be room."

She looked at him disbelievingly for a moment before she started laughing, shaking her head and smiling cheerily.

"Only you could say something so cold and make it sound like an invitation."

He gave an innocent smile, "just being realistic. We lost people at Endor, and I fully expect this battle to be on similar terms."

Vic'que's face flickered and she fell silent as they walked down the hall, when she finally spoke she sounded subdued.

"Thank you, for coming for me. You could have gotten yourself killed but you still came for me."

"I don't leave people behind."

She nodded, a wistful smile crossing her lips. "Maarek says you're too reckless to be in command of a wing."

Garin snorted, "and he's too cold hearted to have the lives of others in his hands. I'm sure we'll reach an understanding."

"You did to some degree after Coruscant. He was pretty surprised when you came to save him. He spent the entire night trying to make sense of why you'd bother saving him."

"I'd like to think we're both mature enough to recognize we're on the same side despite any differences," Garin said thoughtfully.

She snorted quietly, "well if it's any consolation he still thinks you're a damned good pilot whose chief flaw is that you don't listen to reason when it's laid out for you."

He opened his mouth to respond but was forestalled at a shout from behind them.

"The Ice Queen is back," Kalan cheered as he latched one arm around each of their shoulders.

"Sorry sir," Matrin said with a smile, "I tried to stop him."

Garin raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure you did."

Vic'que jabbed a finger into Kalan's side, the smaller man jumped and frowned.

"Hey no fair, you can't tickle an officer."

"Says the man hanging onto his superior and another officer," her tone was dangerous but any threat was belayed by the smile on her face. She probably wouldn't admit it, but she was happy to see the two of them again.

"Going to stay very long," Matrin inquired innocently, "we could run another 'fresher scene for morale purposes."

Vic'que's eyes flashed and she jammed her elbow into Matrin's ribs, he coughed and grinned at her apologetically, "sorry I couldn't resist. Besides I'm sure you look just as good now as you did then. It's only been a few years."

That was all it took; Garin hadn't seen Vic'que quite that shade of red in sometime and watched as her eyes flared up and she took a swing at Matrin, who was saved by Kalan arm over her shoulders.

"I'm going to have Arusi put both of you on permanent work detail," she growled, shoving Kalan off of her who feigned terror.

"Oh no, whatever will we do!"

Garin shook his head and sighed in exasperation, something's never changed; no matter how much time passed. He was kept from further musing when Vic'que managed to get Kalan off of her and this time landed a very vicious blow into Matrin's gut.

"Don't kill them;" he chided. "We've got enough trouble with the Republic."

"They can wait their damned turn; I'm going to gut these two."

Garin sat at his terminal going over everything that had happened over the past week within Hades. Training had been increased by half for all his combat personnel, consequently he'd also allowed them more downtime in lieu of the other duties they'd normally performed meaning that maintenance and engineering teams had been required to pick up the slack. The unit's fighting ability would be ill served if he worked his people to the bone without allowing them to rest, the maintenance and engineer teams at least had droids to assist them in their routine and considering that Daru was heading them she'd have worked them hard even without his orders. During normal operations he made sure that even combat personnel participated in the maintenance of their equipment and the _Knight _at large but they weren't in a normal operation right now. Even if Thrawn hadn't said it would be, Garin and everyone else who knew about this operation knew it would be decisive. Everyone could feel it.

His door chimed, "enter."

He looked up to see Vic'que, in her flight suit, her hair tied up in the bun she always wore in combat with her helmet beneath her arm.

"Heading back to the _Chimaera_ now," he looked at his chrono and blinked, was it that late already? "I'll see you off."

She snorted and moved out of the way as he stepped into the hall, "as if I'd let you get away with anything else. You're a real hutt you know that, sneaking off in the middle of my visit, and after I snuck out to come see the unit."

He smiled and shrugged, "just because the one-eight-one lets you goof around doesn't mean I have the time to humor you."

There was a long pause as they walked, and then she burst out laughing, she really had changed for the better Garin mused. She'd never have laughed like that before.

"You're a lowborn bastard," she said with a vicious; "to think that Thrawn made you my commander. And you're one to talk about goofing off; you tolerate Matrin and Kalan's antics readily enough."

"They're in my unit," Garin pointed out with a mock defensive tone. "You're not my problem anymore."

Her smile slackened and she shook her head, "you know you're really something. Even Colonel Phennir doesn't inspire people the way you do. It's pretty impressive I envy you that. I could never be patient enough to command a unit as diverse and unique as Hades; commanding the Wyverns was challenging enough."

Garin snorted, "would you want to? Look at what this unit has been through and the mistakes I made knowing that everything I did could have gotten all of us killed. Having this many lives under you is a lot of trouble. You don't get to have much peace of mind."

"Yeah but you manage don't you Gar," she said; he blinked and looked at her. She normally didn't use the shortened version of his name. It was too personal to her mind.

As she continued she sounded almost longing, "you know I always wondered why I followed you. I didn't like you particularly when we first met."

"You hit me," Garin said with a smile.

"You deserved it for that asinine stunt with the escape pod," she returned with a fond scowl.

He snorted, "if everyone that's fallen for one of my asinine stunts got a hit on me I'd be very bruised."

"You'd still deserve it, you don't fight fair."

He shrugged, "fighting fair gets you killed. I prefer not to die."

She nodded, "true and I'd never fault you for keeping us all alive. Still though, when I joined the Fleet I expected there to be more…I guess honor to what I did. I didn't expect to be part of a unit that specialized in skulking behind the enemy's back and shooting them in the foot."

"Life does strange things, when I signed up I didn't expect to watch my entire unit get wiped out from under me. Hell I didn't expect my commanding officer to die on our first major sortie and leave me the ranking pilot."

She paused and looked at him, "you know none of the others talk about that. Arusi, Luixana...even Kalan and Matrin get somber when anyone mentions it."

Garin didn't say anything as they stepped into the waiting lift, as it whisked them towards the hangar he finally spoke into the growing silence.

"All five of us thought we were going to die, even Harth. Toth, in his usual resourcefulness got us drunk the night before, our Captain joined in."

She blinked and looked at him, "your commanding officer got drunk with you?"

He smiled, "we were the last five of his pilots, out of twenty-five we were all that was left. It was a pretty big mess."

"And Thrawn saved your hides," she said with a snort, shaking her head. "We all owe him in some way or another, like you said before."

She looked at him when didn't respond, "you know when we crashed on Endor's moon, I thought we would die there, alone."

He didn't say anything, so she continued, "I always wondered why I hated you so much, then you came after me and saved my life and I realized something." She looked away now, her expression guilty. "I wouldn't have done the same for you, not then, if that had been you falling through the atmosphere I would have let you burn."

Garin smiled, "I know. Most of the unit would have made the same call I think, though I doubt they'd admit it."

"But that was what I resented I guess, your stubborn refusal to give up on any of us, even me. I was the weak link in the unit," she scowled at him as he opened his mouth. "Don't even think about contradicting me, I nearly shot Blue remember?"

Garin closed his mouth again and let her continue, "I guess that's why I was so mad at you when you let her go to pieces like that. It wasn't like you and I was furious that you'd give up on anyone so easily. That's why I came and kicked you into shape just before she went and locked herself in the hangar."

"Thank you for that," he said. "I needed it, though at the time I was pretty obstinate."

The lift stopped and they stepped off, taking another ride to the gantry where Vic'que's Interceptor was berthed. They stopped in front of it and she turned to look at him for a long, silent, moment.

"Gar…" she frowned uncertainly, "thank you sir. For everything, I wouldn't be quite this good without everything you did for me."

Garin shrugged and smiled, "anytime."

There was another pause, and she stepped closer to him, Garin immediately raised his hand, "stop right there. You've got Stele; don't do anything you're going to hate yourself for."

She snorted and eyed him mischievously, "that's twice now you've blown me off." She looked at her Interceptor, donning her helmet. "You might give me a complex."

"I'm sure Stele will remedy any issue."

She nodded and dropped down the ladder into the open hatch, looking up at him. "It's funny, I fell for him and still want him after all this time;" he could just imagine the expression on her face. "But I keep thinking of what it would have been like to fall in love with you instead."

Garin knelt and looked down the ladder, "don't dwell on it. If he means that much to you, stick with him. You'll go crazy otherwise."

Again he imagined her expression, an arrogant smirk, as she responded. "Garin you should know by now, on Kuat all you men are the same: just breeding material for the women."

He snorted, "don't die."

She nodded, "you too. Make sure you tell Blue how much she means to you."

With that she closed the hatch, and after an initial check the berthing clamps released her wing pylons and she activated her repulsorlifts. She saluted through the cockpit and he returned it with a nod. He watched the red striped Interceptor back out into the hangar and exit through the containment field before turning and accelerating into space. He stood there a while longer, his mind running through the course of his career and everyone that had been a part of it. The more he thought about it, the larger his smile grew and he felt growing warmth inside of him; it had been a very good life. If even Vic'que had reached an inner peace despite all the turmoil then he certainly didn't have any excuse not to do the same.

Later, he leaned over a maintenance shaft and wrapped his knuckles against a power housing; Daru's smeared and dirtied face appeared in the shaft's access hatch.

She looked up at him curiously, "shouldn't you be resting?"

He shrugged, "couldn't close my eyes."

She blinked, and even though he couldn't see the tails themselves, he saw the base of her lekku pulse in an uncertain spasm.

"Did you need something Garin?"

He knelt and reached down with a gentle smile, "just you."

Her eyes flickered in a brief flash of fear, but after a moment's hesitation she put her tools down and reached up, clasping his hand. He pulled her up out of the hatch, and wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips against hers gently. She returned the kiss eagerly, pressing herself into his arms as she leaned into him. When they finally broke the kiss he saw tears in her eyes, he brushed a lubricant smeared cheek with a soft smile.

"You're filthy, let's get you cleaned up."

The members of the engineering team that Daru had been working with all exchanged glances, the veteran Hades members smiled and exchanged good natured cat calls, while the new clone and non-clone members glanced around uncertainly. Neither Garin nor Daru paid any attention as they left together.


	46. Chapter 43

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One, **_**Bilbringi Shipyards**

"So that's how you spent the evening before the battle," she sounded slightly incredulous and Garin wondered how she had spent the hours before the battle.

I smiled and shrugged, recalling the feeling of Daru in my arms the night before. I was very glad that I had gone to her when I had considering how things had turned out. No matter what happened here I at least had the satisfaction of knowing that Daru and I had been honest with each other and our feelings.

"I can't think of many other places I would have rather spent the run up to a battle," I said benignly.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you would go do something like that," she smiled at me, "you do seem a bit of a romanticist after all."

I snorted, "if you're implying that I made use of the fact that we were going into battle as some kind of clichéd motive to sleep with her then no. I would have done it even if we'd been on a normal cruise and not preparing for all of this."

I finished the statement with a wave around the room as she looked at me skeptically, thankfully I didn't need her validation for what had happened between Daru and I; all I needed was for her to keep asking me questions and making commentary, no matter how silly either may be. The more time I had here the better for me in the end. Though I had to admit, I was running out of material to feed her.

**Within the last 24 hours, Inner Rim Territories, aboard the **_**Black Knight**_

Garin stirred slowly, slower than he normally would have, as his mind cleared. Despite the grogginess he felt more satisfied and at ease with himself than he had in a very long time. The curvature of Daru's cool body nestled against him was all the proof he needed for that. He shifted gently in an effort not to wake her, he felt her body ripple in a shudder and she curled herself further against him; rendering his efforts on the far side of futile. Smiling, he settled in defeat; he freed his arm and ran his fingers over her hips, feeling the sharp definitions of her body beneath his touch, before snaking his arm around her waist and holding her tenderly. He took in a deep breath, her scent filled his nostrils, despite the shower there was still the undertone of the mechanical, the ozone, the grease, the myriad other scents of shipboard life; it was all there, all part of her.

He closed his eyes again and rested against her, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her breathing. He might have stayed like that for hours if his com hadn't buzzed, suddenly shattering the soft quietude of the cabin. Carefully, he shifted away from Daru, she squirmed and groaned quietly rolling over as he managed to get himself out of bed and answer his com somewhat sullenly.

"Durives."

"Good morning sir, I hear Chief Kerrila is with you," Iriana said mirthfully.

"You could say that," Garin responded, leaning against his desk and looking at Daru's curled shape in the sheets on his bunk. "What is it?"

"The Tangrene assault has begun, the Admiral sent over a data pack outlining the battle line. Orlis is in the Cave going over it; I thought you might like to meet us there."

Garin nodded with a tired sigh, turning away from the bed and closing his eyes.

"Alright I'll be there in a few minutes, thank you."

"Make sure you say goodbye Garin, we don't like when you sneak out before we wake up."

Garin snorted and stifled a laugh, "what is this, Galactic Dating 101?"

"Just friendly advice sir," she responded innocently before terminating the call.

He put the com down and turned to look at Daru, what he saw froze him on the spot. She'd woken up, and while he'd been talking had stretched herself out on the bunk, removing the sheet that had been covering her. He'd seen her body before obviously, but this was very different. It was a display and she was its radiant centerpiece.

She smiled at him tenderly; her lekku splayed out to either side of her head writhed on the bed softly. "I never thought I'd see a look like that on your face Garin."

It took him a moment to find his the muscles that controlled his jaw, "I never thought I'd be in a situation to use that expression. You trust me this much?"

Still smiling she nodded and slid off the bed, crossing the distance between them in what seemed like slow motion. She leaned against him and placed gentle kisses against his chest.

"Is it starting?"

He nodded wordlessly, his hands moving slowly to clasp her waist before they began to traverse her spine. He caressed her lekku and she drew in a hissing breath as she shivered and pressed against him.

"You need to go then," she said quietly, nestling her lips against his neck. "We both have to do our jobs."

Regretfully, he nodded and drew her head back for a tender kiss, smiling against her spiced lips before breaking the kiss; his fingers tracing a lekku tenderly.

"Alright Chief, but we're not done yet."

Her smile, for the first time in all the years he'd known her, turned impish, "no we're not."

Garin stepped into the Cave to find Orlis and Iriana waiting for him with Harth, Toth, Kalan, Matrin, and Sissir.

"Hey boss," Matrin said with a knowing smile, "she didn't wear you out did she?"

"Wear him out," Kalan said in mock distress, "if a little exercise takes out our fearless leader then we're all doomed!"

Sissir frowned, though she failed to convince Garin it was heartfelt.

"Want me to shoot them?"

Toth feigned horror, "you won't defend me but you'll defend him? I feel so loved."

She shrugged, "you're mine; and you can take care of yourself. They need more looking after."

Harth cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow, "are we done?"

Everyone quieted down; Garin gave Harth a thankful smile the big man simply looked back to the holoprojector where Commander Kindran was standing patiently with Captain Chapella.

"The assault on Tangrene and the Ubiqtorate has begun. The Admiral has allowed ships in the surrounding sectors to respond to their distress call to give the Republic the impression that their ruse is indeed working. Our main force will assemble at Bilbringi, the _Black Knight _will form part of the picket screen for our interdiction vessels during the battle. The keystone of the engagement is to brook no escape by the enemy and give them no time to react. The interdictors will ensure that they reenter realspace beyond the Bilbringi defense perimeter in direct opposition to our own fleet where we will engage and destroy them."

Iriana spoke up first, "are there any further orders?"

Orliss shook his head, "the communiqué attached to the data file specified that further orders would be issued once the battle began."

"I don't imagine that the _Knight_ and the other major cruisers will be left on the picket line for long," Toth mused, his earlier light heartedness completely gone. "Eventually we'll need their firepower to engage the Republic fleet."

"Likely frigates and smaller cruisers will be left to form the picket," Orlis provided. "Heavy cruisers like ourselves will probably be called upon to screen the destroyers once the battle begins."

Iriana nodded agreement, "the _Knight _and the other heavies would be wasted on the picket. Initially though they'll be needed to deter the Republic from assaulting the interdictors. If they see that the interdiction screen is well defended then they'll be forced to fight it out with our main line; once that happens it will free heavier assets from the picket line to engage them from the flanks."

"Alright," Garin said, finally speaking. "I want all our squadrons assembled for a briefing, Iriana I'll leave the _Knight _in your hands during the battle. You and Orlis know more about the big ships than I do." He gave her a pleading smile, "just don't let anyone ram her."

She scowled at him, the expression mirroring the way his sister used to look at him when he got into trouble.

"You're never going to let me live that down are you sir?"

"He'd better not," Orlis said quietly, "I prefer to have an intact deck beneath my boots."

That drew the expected smirks and soft chuckles from the assembled friends, and a few nervous smiles exchanged by the technicians at their posts around the Cave.

Iriana let out an exasperated sigh, "oh for—I am not going to get anyone killed."

"That includes yourself;" Orlis added deadpan.

She turned daggers on him, "you stay out of this."

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this point that Hades had a less than typical attitude about the upcoming battle despite the fact you all realized its significance."

I chuckled, no she shouldn't. Not after all that I'd been telling her; though I granted that any military minded individual would find us a little strange. Somehow though, I got the feeling that many of the people who had fought before Endor would find the camaraderie in Hades eerily familiar for all that it was an Imperial unit.

"About Chief Kerrila," she began, I raised my hand.

"That's private and I can't think that you need to know if she's blue down there too."

She flushed ever so slightly, "I wa—" she shook her head, "what did you discuss at the briefing?"

"More or less the same as what the others and I spoke about," I said simply to which she gave me a disbelieving frown.

"Considering your unit, I hardly believe that you followed typical Imperial protocol."

I shrugged, "fair enough…."

**Within the last 24 hours, Inner Rim Territories, aboard the **_**Black Knight **_

"Once we're in system we will take up position on the forward left flank of the interdiction zone. The interdictors will pull the Republic fleet out almost on top of us so we will need to react quickly. Mantis and Diamond will lead our attack with a missile barrage towards any fighters within our combat zone."

The holoprojector behind Garin basked the briefing room and the faces of his pilots in an eerie glow as he continued.

"Once their initial line has been broken Shadow and Wyvern will move to engage with Mantis in support," as he proceeded he looked to each squadron in turn, making broad eye contact with each to ensure they knew their tasks. "Diamond will break through the fighter screen and attack the enemy capital ships;" he looked at Harth, "you don't need to destroy your targets, you can leave that to our caps, just put some holes in them."

"We'll take care of it," Harth responded deadpan with a smile that looked all too pleased at the prospect of putting holes in the Republic warships.

Garin's gaze shifted to Reaper, they were his least experienced unit and if Hades had a weak link it was them—which made the task he was giving them seem somewhat out of place—however they'd proven themselves in the months leading up to now and they'd trained just as hard as the rest. It helped that their Scimitars were uniquely suited to the task he had in mind for them, and if the Howlrunners were less than stellar they could at least protect the big bombers.

"Reaper," they sat up straighter as he addressed them; "I'm giving you a very critical job. Thrawn's battle plan depends on maintaining the enemy in a killing field encircled by our ships. The Republic will try and break out of that field and flank us with their fast movers while their big guns slug it out;" his eyes narrowed, putting a deep emphasis on the next part. "You need to engage and cripple if not destroy any ships that attempt this breakout. If they manage to get outside of our interdiction zone we will need to split our forces and that could shatter the entire line. Keep that from happening."

Finally he turned to Golem—his Skipray team—with a smirk, "Golem has the easiest job. The _Knight_ will initially form part of the picket line protecting the interdictors however she will in all likelihood be called off the line to fully engage once the shooting starts. Golem will provide escort."

Golem's commander nodded grimly, an expression that seemed a little unneeded considering the relative ease of his task compared to the other units.

"We'll keep her safe sir; you'll have a berth to come back to."

Garin smiled at the man, "I have every faith in that. Keep the lights on and the door open."

He looked around at his people one last time, "according to the Admiral we have roughly seven hours before the Republic will attack Bilbringi which gives us about five hours before we move out. They'll be waiting to ensure that we've taken the bait at Tangrene before striking," he said with an ironic smile that was shared by many of his pilots. He put a little extra command in his voice for this part, "I want all of you to rest. I do not want to catch anyone in the sims or hangar bay. This is going to be a full blown fleet engagement and no one will benefit from working themselves up before the fighting starts. Eat a good meal, and take it easy."

He scanned the faces one last time, the veterans were calm and loose, the newer pilots were more edgy and tense while the clones sat stiffly like droids. He considered them for a moment more before giving an all encompassing nod that summed up everything in one motion.

"We're the best the Empire has to offer, show the Republic what that means; dismissed."

Garin jogged down the line of Defenders until he reached his machine, his heart missed a beat when he saw Daru waiting in front of it. She'd been working on the cloak shield this entire time and he hadn't had the chance to see her.

"Hey," he said quietly as he came to a stop.

She gave him a nervous smile, taking his helmet from under his arm and kissing the faceplate lightly before placing it on his head and activating its pressurized seal.

"Keep your promise," she said as she tapped the side of his helmet softly, "come back in one piece."

He nodded, the movement exaggerated inside the helmet. He raised a gloved finger and stroked her cheek gently, causing her lekku to shudder in a rippling wave.

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else."

She nodded and stepped aside, "go get them."

He climbed into his fighter and ran his checks, everything was green; he keyed Shadow's com.

"Shadow lead is lit and green."

One by one the Shades called their numbers, eleven lit and green. He flipped over to the unit wide com.

"Hades One-One is a go."

"Hades Two-One," answered Wyvern leader, "green lit all."

Harth's deeply calm voice came next, "Hades Three-One, green."

"Hades Four-One," Toth said cheerily, "running green and ready."

Next was Reaper lead, "Hades Five-One has all green."

And finally Golem; "Hades Six-One is green and cleared for action."

Garin nodded, smiling inside his helmet, "all callsigns launch by numbers."

The Defenders, Avengers, and Diamond Blues dropped from their cradles and flew out in three ship flights, below them on the flight deck the Star Wings, Blastboats, Howlrunners and Scimitars lifted off in their flights and followed the TIEs into space. The fighters formed up in formation with the _Knight_ with parade precision; Garin felt his blood burning with excitement as the order to jump was given and star points turned to lines of light and then fused into a shimmering tunnel. Garin reached down as his fighter soared through hyperspace, his hand hovering over his waist where the buckle Daru had given him rested beneath the flightsuit. This was it his mind told him, the war, he could feel that the war, or at least his part in it, would come to a head here and he was going to survive whatever happened and come back. He had to, he wasn't about to break his word.

*****Scimitars have a crew of two


	47. Chapter 44

**Within the last 4 hours, Bilbringi Shipyards**

Garin hung in space, his eyes closed as he dosed inside his cockpit. He'd set his Defender to maintain station in relative to the _Knight_. The rest of Hades and several other units floated nearby in and around the capital ships, the _Knight _was among several other cruisers and frigates settled in around an interdictor destroyer* there were two smaller interdictor cruisers in their portion of the line that also fell under the formation's purview. The smaller cruisers and frigates drifted between the three interdictors, ensuring constant coverage for the valuable warships. At the center of the Imperial line rested the Bilbringi Shipyards and their Golan defense platforms along with the _Chimaera _and her battle group. They'd been here for a little over an hour and not much had happened aside from the sudden panic and scattering of the civilian traffic lanes. Many had opted to simply remain docked at the yards instead of risk open space whatever it was the Imperial formation was preparing for.

"Hey Gar," Toth called.

Garin's eyes flicked open, "yeah?"

"The interdictors just powered up and began projecting, I think this is it."

"About time," muttered Kalan, "I'm stiffer than a hull plate!"

"Heh, I'm sure you can manage some basic calisthenics in your suit Kal." Responded Matrin teasingly.

"_Black Knight _do you have any signatures?"

"Affirmative Hades lead, multiple hyperspace profiles are being projected into the system, ETA seven minutes."

This assertion was confirmed a moment later when Pallaeon's trim voice echoed over the com lines.

"All units, enemy reversion is imminent; power up and prepare to engage. Vessels on the picket line maintain your positions and defend our interdictors until otherwise ordered."

Garin flipped his controls and felt the familiar and reassuring vibration of his shields coming online. His sensors registered dozens of other power signatures coming online all around him as Hades and all the rest came to full combat readiness. He glanced down at his chrono and began counting down the time until the Republic fleet was to drop into realspace again. The minutes ticked by at a crawl and the digital numbers became his entire world for those grueling moments, when the last sixty seconds began to race by he gripped his control yoke and braced his feet against his flight pedals. At thirty five seconds the Republic fleet dropped into space in front of his viewscreen, there was no hesitation in his voice or actions as he kicked the throttle to full and leapt towards the enemy.

"Hades engage your targets."

Before the command was fully out of his mouth, Mantis and Diamond opened with a rippling barrage of concussion missiles; the barrage tore past Garin's cockpit racing towards the rapidly recovering Republic forces. As expected the Republic broke itself into three wings, the largest wing going for the center of the Imperial formation while the outboard wings turned to engage the flanking arms of the Imperial fleet. Garin performed a brief sweep of his sensors and felt a nervous smile cross his features. The two forces were about even, he could even see a few star destroyers in the Republic line; this could be interesting. Though clearly the Republic was still very thrown off by the sudden reversion to realspace and the instantaneous assault by the Imperial warships and fighters as evidenced by the rather lack-luster battle formation they were arraying themselves into. Garin certainly welcomed the chaos; it made his job that much easier.

The missile volley that erupted in a brilliant blaze of light amongst the recovering Republic fighters, scattering them in every direction; using this tactic in a conventional battle had some major risks he admitted. If any of the other units operating on Hades' side of the battle had accelerated into the oncoming Republic fighters too quickly there could have been a major fratricide. Luckily that hadn't happened, as Hades closed on the still shaken Republic fighters he keyed his missiles and dual linked them. He slid his crosshairs over an oncoming B-wing and waited until he had tone and pulled the trigger; his missiles streaked out and slammed into the oncoming fighter, sending it spinning off course as its shields took the hit. He sped past the disoriented fighter, locking his tractor beam onto it and dragging it along with him, his fighter jerked and he smiled, the B-wing and another red blip had vanished off his sensors.

As far as he knew, Hades was the only unit equipped with the tractor weapons. He wasn't sure if Thrawn had ever reintegrated their production. The 'runners unfortunately were too underpowered to carry them and the Scimitars simply didn't have the hardpoints for the weapon so Reaper squadron was without them, but all the other fighters under his command carried the micro beams and they all knew how to use them in a dogfight. That fact was quickly evident as his tactic of dragging fighters back through their own ranks like wrecking balls was mirrored by both his wingmen. He grinned and kicked his thrusters, throwing his fighter into a rolling bank that brought him down on top of a hapless Y-wing, its shields survived his barrage, but they didn't survive the crossfire as the rest of his flight brought their weapons to bear. The lumbering fighter buckled and collapsed in a short lived fireball that vaporized into space as Garin searched for fresh targets. There was no shortage of either Republic or Imperial blips on his sensor board and out his viewscreen he could see literally dozens of fighters twisting and turning in combat.

"This is Diamond leader; we are through the fighter screen."

Garin smiled, "happy hunting Diamond group. Say hello for all of us."

"With pleasure Hades one," Harth said coldly.

"Shadow and Wyvern persecute these flyers, Mantis you've got overwatch."

"Way ahead of you lead," Toth responded crisply, "this is like picking grapes off a vine. They might as well be standing still."

Garin smiled and nodded to himself as he vented an A-wing that tried to go after a trio of bombers attempting to follow in Diamond's wake. Laserfire spattered over his shields and he snapped downwards in a spin, Shadow two and three rocketed past him in pursuit of his attacker and he swung up and around to cover their after approach. It was a good thing he did too because a pair of X-wings decided that the strikingly colored** Defenders were prime targets and swung in behind them and began peppering them with cannon fire. Neither ship took direct hull hits but it was enough to scare them off of his wingmates who were performing evasive rolls of their own to get clear of the string of angry red bolts the fighters had sent their way. Garin swapped his hud to apprise him of Hades' condition and smiled to see that the unit had taken no losses yet. He still expected that to change, but it was good to see that his people were tearing their opponents to pieces for now.

Three large blips broke off from the Republic fleet and sped towards the picket line; he also noticed that the outermost interdictors had fallen back into the main battle line, probably a good idea considering their exposed position.

He keyed his com, "Reaper lead you've got three assault frigates trying for a break out."

"We have them sir, leave it to us."

The assault frigates were a nasty job, basically a retooling of the Dreadnaughts, the Rebellion had originally used them in limited numbers as fast strike raiders, but the Republic had started producing them in large numbers and the fast, sturdy, and well armed ships were one of the nastiest things Garin had flown against. He hoped the Reapers could handle themselves interdicting the things but there was little he could do at this point, he selected his next target and brought up his missiles again, switching over to single fire and loosing a warhead at the oncoming X-wing as his wingmates opened up with their cannons. He flew through the resulting debris field and found himself smiling. He supposed at heart he really had become somewhat of a combat junkie; he stole another glance at his sensors and nodded approval as the _Knight _and Golem moved to reinforce Reaper as they intercepted the oncoming frigates. The Republic wasn't going to win this one at this rate, and if they lost there'd be little stopping Thrawn from rampaging straight across Republic space and nailing them in their coffins.

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"You really thought you were going to win didn't you," she said quietly.

I nodded with a bitter smile, "we had it made. Your fleet put up a good effort I give you that but the battle was going our way and anyone with any sense could see it. By the time things turned you'd lost nearly a quarter of your fighters and several capital ships for relatively light losses on our side.*** So yes, I thought we were going to win."

She looked at me for a long moment before shifting her gaze, "then what happened next must have come as a true shock."

I snorted and laughed, the bitterness stinging my throat.

"Which part of it, it all went to hell and got spaced so fast I'm still trying to decide what went wrong exactly."

**Within the last 4 hours, Bilbringi Shipyards**

Garin swore as the last of the Golan platforms went up, he was too far removed from the center of the line to be of any real help but he'd still kept an eye on the developing situation. He still wasn't sure exactly what had happened but it seemed like a swarm of freighters from the shipyards had broken dock and attacked the platforms. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, except these freighters appeared to be armed like small capital ships apparently as they, with assistance from a squad of fighters had just finished off Bilbringi's static defenses and torn a hole in the Imperial line that the rest of the Republic force was widening with brutal force. The only good news if it could be called that was that given his position on the flank of the main battle the Republic's renewed assault was taking them away from Hades. Considering the widening back in the Imperial line though, he didn't think there could be any good news.

He flipped the unit wide channel, "all units abort your current assignment, push on their flank and give them something to think about people before they forget we can do more than sting."

He got a string of affirmatives, there was no hesitation as Hades dove away from the fighter skirmish and charged the nearest capital ships letting loose with volleys of missiles. Perhaps because they'd been so concentrated on widening the newly made breach, the gunners on the first cluster of ships didn't fire on Hades initially. That or they were just too surprised to see a swarm of fighters break off and come directly at them to fire. The first ship, a smallish Mon Cal cruiser took the brunt of the missile barrage and was rabidly set upon by the swarming fighter wing. Only its redundant systems saved the cruiser from being torn to pieces as Hades swept over it and in amongst the other ships. The crossfire that resulted at least meant that the Republic warships were shooting each other as they tried to swat down the fighters.

"We've got company," someone called.

Garin checked and yes, some of the fighters had come after them. No surprise there.

"Shadow and Wyvern engage those fighters," Garin turned words to action and pulled off the hull of the frigate he'd been running along and pulled up to face the oncoming fighters, his eyes widened as a brace of torpedoes were loosed at him, the pilot of the B-wing hadn't bothered with a lock and from point blank range there was very little he could do. He began firing wildly and saw one torpedo lanced by an ion shot drift harmlessly off course; the remaining three hit him head on. His shields buckled and his power flickered as his fighter jerked and spun wildly, he killed his throttle and swore as he began running diagnostics.

"All ships, the Grand Admiral is dead, fall back, I repeat all ships withdraw."

Garin hadn't been paying attention to the theater com but now he did and he heard the desperate chorus of calls for new orders. He didn't pay them much attention even then, what Pallaeon had just said sent icy spikes of déjà vu through his mind. Thrawn dead, Pallaeon calling a retreat; he stopped wrestling with his controls and leaned back against his seat suddenly feeling very tired as he closed his eyes. It was Endor, all over again; somewhere in the galaxy, someone was laughing.

"Garin can you hear me?"

He opened his eyes with a sigh and keyed the com, "yeah I hear you."

"Damn Gar you scared the spit out of me," Toth called, "you're missing your port wing and your starboard is barely holding on."

"That explains the power problems," Garin said stoically.

Toth's tone shifted, Garin smiled, yes, he recognized his tone too. It was defeated, "orders Gar?"

"Harth can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"You're in command; get everyone out of here before they slaughter us."

"What abou—" he began.

"I'm dead in space, I've barely got power, just get to the _Knight._"

His targeting computer warned him of a weapon lock from his aft and he scowled at the interruption, clutching his yoke and squeezing the flare launcher. A moment later something exploded behind him.

"Damn Gar," Toth said with forced cheerfulness, "you got him****."

Garin frowned, "all of you get out of here now."

"We're not leaving you sir," Kalan responded tensely.

"You can't afford to tow me, and that's the only way I'm getting out of here."

A Diamond Blue flew in close to him and he scowled as its tractor beam tugged at his fighter, "get out of here!"

"Negative boss," Matrin replied, "I'm dragging you back home."

"Mat look out," someone else shouted, a missile hit Matrin's ship and he spun away from Garin's craft which kicked violently as the tractor lost its hold.

"Don't get yourselves killed; just go now while you still have a chance at running!"

"Hades withdraw," Hath said quietly.

"Like hell," shouted Kalan and Matrin in unison.

"The next person who tries to save me," growled Garin; "is going to get shot."

They couldn't see it of course, but he reached for his cannons, he didn't even know if the remaining weapons had any charge left, but it was all he could think of at the moment. There was a long silence, no one else tried to approach him but neither did they leave. The pause was punctuated by cannon fire and detonating ordnance as Hades continued to fight around Garin's crippled ship.

"We'll be back for you," Harth finally said stonily. "Hades withdraw," he repeated.

Garin didn't say anything, he just leaned back in his seat and watched his viewscreen as Hades broke and ran until he could no longer see them with the naked eye. He watched as the minutes passed and the distant shapes of capital ships winked with pseudo-motion and vanished into hyperspace. His eyes focused on what he thought was the _Black Knight _and watched as she too vanished into the stars, he keyed his computer, when it didn't respond he gave it a solid whack with his fist. The screen flickered to life and he cycled through the menu until he found what he was looking for. Seven; that was how many of his people had been lost, eight including him he supposed. Something hit the ship and electricity leapt from his screens as his systems fried. That was that then, he was completely disabled. He assumed the next pass would be the last; it shouldn't be very long now. He reached down and touched his waist where the buckle would be and smiled.

"Sorry Daru, looks like I broke the promise."

Something covered flew in above him and he frowned, looking up and wondering what that meant. Was his killer mocking him? That was just what he needed, a sadist. The hatch blew and a helmeted face looked down and directed a blaster at him; motioning for him to come out. Garin sighed and nodded, raising one hand and reaching down with the other to unfasten his harness. He pushed off slowly from the seat and gripped the lip of the hatch with his hands slowly as he free floated. The flightsuit didn't have any kind of propulsion, and for a moment he considered shoving off into space under his own power rather than letting the Republic take him prisoner. The thought passed as soon as it came. He looked up to see a transport floating in space above him as another space suited figure grabbed him from behind and jetted upwards towards it.

They landed in a small airlock, which sealed itself and cycled rapidly, the two Republic space men took their helmets off one of them was a Sullustan.

The human tapped Garin's helmet with his blaster, "alright Imp take off the helmet."

Garin did so slowly, no point in getting shot now after all. When it was off and clipped to his waist they secured his hands with binders and took him into the interior of the transport. Three other individuals wearing Imperial flightsuits sat on benches, they looked at him sullenly as he sat down.

"Alright," the human called into his comlink, "onto the next one."

*For those wondering why there are interdiction cruisers and destroyers; there are two distinctive interdiction vessels in use by the Empire and to a lesser extent by the Republic. The Immobilizer 418 Cruiser is the warship based off the Vindicator Heavy Cruiser (_Black Knight_); both built by Sienar Fleet Systems. While the larger Interdictor Star Destroyer is built by Kuat Drive Yards and based off that firm's Star Destroyer lines. I do not know if there is a proper class name for the interdiction destroyer.

**Hades is still sporting their singular paint job.

***I can't find numbers, but it appears that the Republic took a serious beating while the Empire suffered comparatively light casualties in the initial act of the battle.

****While hardly the best way to deal with a pursuing fighter as flares do not pack much firepower, lightly armored and shielded ships like TIEs and A-wings can be destroyed with a direct hit.


	48. Chapter 45

**Present, interrogation room aboard the Mon Cal cruiser **_**Home One**_**, Bilbringi Shipyards**

"Alright, I guess that's all I have for you then;" Deana said, closing down her datapad; "unless you had anything to add Commander?"

I shook my head, wondering if it had been long enough. That had taken a while to get through.

"You know the rest, I was processed and here I am."

She nodded, "yes well I don't need to record that. You'll be moved to a cell next. There is one thing I'd like to know though, and it could help you in the long run."

I raised an eyebrow and looked up at her, "what would that be?"

"You mentioned that Hades had a recall transmitter that allowed your cruiser to send out a signal to your ships. If you could provide that transmission's frequency I might be able to get your incarceration taken care of quickly and even allow you better accommodations."

There was a silence between us, and then I burst out laughing. Was she serious? She couldn't possibly think that I was going to give her that of all things and besides I didn't think I'd be staying for too long anyways.

"I'm not giving you anything that will let you hunt down my people; I thought I already made that clear."

"I was wondering, after hearing about how you felt when you realized you'd lost that you might want to be more cooperative."

I snorted, "hardly."

"Alright," she said, her tone changing just enough to make me notice. "Republic Intelligence isn't going to be as friendly as I've been though. I'm just a fleet intel officer, once you're on Coruscant things will get harder for you."

I looked at her appraisingly, "I thought you didn't torture your prisoners?"

"Sometimes there are things we have to do, we don't have what we need here but on Coruscant they'll have everything they need."

I chuckled leaning back and shaking my head as I looked at the ceiling, "you know Lieutenant, I guess I was wrong about you."

"Really," she said softly.

I nodded, "during the months between Thrawn's departure and Endor; when we served under Vader and attacked all those innocent people, do you know what I always asked myself?"

"What," her tone was indulgent; she really wasn't expecting me to give her anything else of use after all.

"'Can I live with this?'"

I looked at her and saw her frown as I continued, "that is something I've wrestled with for a good deal of my career. Living with the choices I've made and despite some pretty nasty screw ups I've made I think I can say that yes, I can live with them. Do you think you can live with sending me and the other prisoners to be tortured?"

She set her face, "I do what needs to be done for the safety of the galaxy. To ensure there isn't another Alderaan."

I nodded, "there you go again. You know that is one thing that I've always found interesting about the Republic: you hold up events like Alderaan and act as if it gives you a free pass to do as you please. I admit that the old Empire committed atrocities, but does that really mean you have to act like that Empire in turn?"

"You attacked us Commander, your side lost, you were captured and now you're a prisoner of war."

I nodded, "yes that is a convenient excuse isn't it. Does the public know that you torture your prisoners?"

"The Republic military does not torture," she said, "our intelligence service does."

"And that makes all the difference I suppose," I said with a soft smile. "So long as you're not the one doing it then it isn't your problem. I envy you; I've had to live with slaughtering entire communities because someone decided it had to be done. All you have to do is enter something in your datapad and the atrocity gets committed elsewhere. What an ideal job for someone with no stomach."

"Get spaced Commander," she said, the nerve struck. "We're done here."

There was a blaster shot—it sounded more like a volley actually—followed by another wave of blasterfire out in the hall and behind the one way mirror besides us. Deana reached for her weapon and pointed it at me; the effort was somewhat comical as I hadn't moved from where I was sitting during the entire affair.

"I will shoot you," she said coldly.

"I think you need to worry about the door," I responded quietly, pointing behind her.

She turned, keeping an eye on me before she aimed at the hatch, I remained seated curious to see what exactly was going on and hoping I wasn't about to get shot. The hatch hissed open and a Republic trooper stepped inside, her eyes widening as she saw the weapon aimed at her.

"Easy Lieutenant, it's clear."

Deana lowered her blaster and scowled, "what just happened?"

"Someone tried to rescue the prisoner; we've sent out a call for a medic, they managed to shoot two of the security personnel."

"How did they get aboard the ship," Deana asked worriedly, looking out into the hall, I leaned over and looked past her and indeed there were two bodies sprawled on the deck. They looked very dead to me, hardly in need of a medical team.

"They pretended to be escorting prisoners; that's how they managed to get so close before we noticed something was wrong."

"They were escorting prisoners," Deana said hotly, "and you fell for it?"

The trooper stiffened defensively, "the prisoners were clones ma'am; we didn't think anyone would try something that stupid on the flagship."

I looked up at the trooper and smiled, "no, I'm sure no one would expect something that crazy. Very good shooting by the way, they didn't even have time to grab their weapons."

The trooper glared at me. Deana frowned and looked back at the bodies as the trooper leaned close to my still smiling face warningly

"You shut up Imperial. I almost died today because of your worthless hide."

I frowned, "I'm hurt Major, I didn't think you'd switch sides so easily."

Deana froze, "Major, wha—"

She didn't finish as the trooper turned around and drew her weapon, firing in the same motion into Deana's back; the intelligence officer dropped like a stone her arms sprawled out on the deck.

The trooper turned back to me and delivered a backhand across my face that spun my head around. It stung like hell but I had to admit I deserved it.

"You stupid bantha," snarled Sissir, "were you trying to get us killed?"

I worked my jaw, shaking my head in an attempt to stop the ringing.

"Well I had faith that you could get to her before she turned around."

Sissir rolled her eyes; another 'Republic' trooper looked in through the hatch, "all clear Major."

She nodded, "let's get you out of here before I decide to shoot you too."

I smiled and stood, stepping over Deana's body and into the hallway where a trio of guards lay sprawled on the ground. In addition to the trooper dressed in Republic style there were three others all of them clones. I nodded appreciatively as I peered into the adjacent viewing room where my interrogation had been monitored. There were two more bodies in there as well; the clones moved past me and began moving the three corpses into the observation room.

"Very impressive," I said; "stupid, but impressive."

Sissir slammed me into the wall and my head began ringing again, "don't piss me off anymore than you already have Gar. We had a kriffing hard time getting this to work and save your rear."

"I didn't think I'd get saved, I fully expected you to run and stay safe; not risk your life for a dead man."

She scowled at me, "you idiot."

"Guilty as charged," I responded as she let me down.

There was a groan from inside the room behind us, I frowned and looked over Sissir's shoulder to see Deana crawling towards the hatch.

"Major, you missed."

"Easily fixed," she responded, drawing her weapon.

I took her blaster and smiled, "allow me. I owe her."

Sissir blinked, "you're feeling vindictive."

I shrugged and knelt down in front of the hatch, poking the barrel of the blaster beneath Deana's chin and raising her eyes to meet mine.

"Hello Lieutenant."

She tried to look defiant, but the pain didn't lend itself to being bold, I nodded understandingly.

"I'm sorry you're hurt, I'd hoped that you wouldn't have felt any pain. After all until just a moment ago you were very civil to me."

"Just shoot me already," she muttered. Her eyes though said something different, she was terrified.

I nodded, "oh I will. I need you to give a message first. Can you do that?"

She looked at me like I'd lost my mind, "go to hell sithspawn."

I sighed, "the message is this: 'leave Hades alone. We're done fighting. Whoever you send after us will die.' Can you do that?"

She remained silent and I shook my head, "so much for civility."

I stood, she looked up at me, her face set defiantly even as her eyes pleaded with me; it was an interesting combination.

"Goodbye Deana," I pulled the trigger and a ring of blue energy flattened her against the deck; she convulsed and lay still.

I held out the blaster, Sissir took it with a frown as she switched back it back to kill, "I was wondering about that."

"Bacta patch," I called to one of the clones, he tossed me the patch and I lifted up Deana's charred uniform and slapped it onto the wound. "That should hold her until someone realizes what's going on."

"That won't be a for a while," Sissir said, "we're running a hard line directly into their mainframe. They don't even realize they're being hacked and they won't know we're here until we're gone."

"From one of your shuttles I assume?"

She nodded, "Commander Kindran came over himself."

I smiled, "how thoughtful of him. Lead the way; I think we've outstayed our welcome and I'd rather not test our luck with that hack despite Orlis' considerable skill."

"Agreed," she said, handing me a Republic officer's uniform. "Put that on and we'll get going. We've got some prisoners to escort."

As I stepped off the assault shuttle I still found it hard to believe that we had just walked off the Republic flagship and launched with barely a word. Mostly due to Kindran's skillful data manipulation, keeping holocams looping when we passed by and diverting maintenance and security teams with false calls. Minor things like that, he'd even managed to give us clearance to launch without going through flight control. The Republic was going to have a fit when they realized what had just happened. I'd thanked Orlis profusely for coming in person to ensure that the hack was handled smoothly. He'd brushed off my thanks but remarked that he hadn't expected I'd be the one to do something stupid, he'd fully expected Iriana to be the one in need of rescuing. Especially after she charged those three assault frigates. I had to chuckle at that one and imagined that I'd get chewed out by my fair share of the crew.

The part of the rescue that I found the most masterful was the _Black Knight _herself, Daru had completed the cloaking shield, and that had enabled the cruiser to sit just off the shipyards, beyond potential collision with the Republic warships and wait for the return of the team's shuttle. True they'd been deaf and blind, but they'd proven at least the utility of a cloaking device in covert operations if nothing else.

I looked at the waiting members of my unit with a broad smile, "whose party is it?"

Toth twitched and came at me with murderous intent, grabbing me and twisted me over as if I were a child, I didn't resist despite my initial inclination.

"You're a moron Gar, don't ever do that again!"

"Would you have actually shot at us," asked Kalan, looking a little hurt.

I shrugged as Toth let me go, "I don't know if the guns had any charge left."

Everyone noticed the obvious, I'd completely evaded the question but no one pursued it further. Everyone was too intent on welcoming me back. The person I was looking for though was no where to be seen.

Sissir must have seen my expression because she touched my arm, "she's busy. We only just got the cloak working; also I wouldn't go see her right now."

I nodded, taking the advice to heart; I turned to Harth who stood stiffly with an ominous scowl on his face.

"Losses," I asked concernedly.

"Minor, just over half a dozen."

"Seven?"

He nodded and I felt a weight lift off my chest, it had been impossible to confirm that the data I'd had in my disabled fighter had been up to date. At least now I knew that no one else had been killed during this fiasco.

"What do we do now," Iriana asked, getting to the point instantly.

Everyone looked at me questioningly and I sighed, shaking my head. Yes, what now. Thrawn was dead, his clone wasn't going to wake up for five years and the Empire would quickly be turning in on itself with no direction from someone as iron handed as Thrawn. Where did Hades fit in? After the silence had dragged on, I finally shook my head and smiled.

"I really don't know. For now get us clear of Republic space; somewhere neutral where we can disappear for a time. We'll worry about it more when we have some distance from the entire war."

She nodded, everyone exchanged glances and I shrugged, "I don't have anymore answers right now. Everyone get some rest and we'll figure it out from there."

Orlis tapped my shoulder and handed me a datapad, I looked at it with a frown that quickly turned into amazement.

"Where—"

"I took the liberty of investing and manipulating our finances. We won't want for much if we decide to continue operations."

I nodded and handed it back to him, "remind me to never play Sabacc with you."

Orlis let out a smile and nodded as I turned and began walking through the crowd.

"What are you going to do Gar," Matrin called.

"I'm going to take my own advice and get some rest," I responded with a wave. I was through with politics and war for the time being. Yet another failed campaign and we were back where we'd been nine years previously. We had to decide if we'd do what we did then again and hope for the best. The galaxy had gotten much smaller since then.

I lay in my bunk, my eyes closed but unsleeping as I stroked the purring ysalmir on my chest, thinking of what to do next. It seemed that even with the war effectively over in my mind, there where just as many choices to be made now as there had been previously. I'd already made one that was rather risky but I felt was warranted after all this time. Lost in thought, I didn't hear the door hiss open, or the soft footsteps approaching my bed. In fact I didn't even realize there was someone in the room until the ysalmir let out an indignant squawk and was pulled off my chest. My eyes opened and I found Daru looking down at me, she was wearing the dress she'd worn the first night Sissir had escorted her to my cabin when Stele and his force-sensitive idiots had been aboard.

I smiled at her, "for a mechanic you know how to get a man's attention."

Wordlessly she slid onto the bed and across my body, I tensed at her touch as she wrapped her arms around me and pressed her lips to mine. My hands traveled along her back and down her lekku; tracing the familiar ground tenderly.

She broke the kiss and looked into my eyes, fingering the buckle she'd given me still clasped at my waist.

"I'm never leaving you behind."

I considered her with mock shame, "even if I don't bring the ships back in good condition?"

Her eyes shimmered and she leaned down against me, closing her eyes and holding me as if I was the fragile one, "even then."

After a long while of lying together, caressing each other, she spoke again, "what now, Thrawn is dead. We don't have anything left to fight for."

I nodded, a slow gentle smile crossing my features. Yes, what now, I'd already told Iriana about our next destination. Now was as good a time as any to tell Daru.

"I have another promise to keep, one I made a very long time ago."

She looked up at me, her expression puzzled. I kissed her forehead gently as I ran a hand against her cheek, she leaned into the caress and closed her eyes, taking my hand and suckling on the fingers.

"What promise is that," she asked, finally releasing my hand.

I smiled at her, "I promised we'd find someone. We'll be stopping at Ryloth for a while."

She froze and looked up at me, her lekku trembling as she slid up against me, wrapping her hands around my head and leaning down against me, whispering tearfully against my lips as we kissed again.

"I love you."

I couldn't help myself as I smiled, breathing back into her mouth my own words.

"I know."


	49. Extra: TIEDB Diamond Blue

TIE/DB (Deluxe Bomber or Diamond Blue)

Manufacturer: independent design

Product Line: TIE series hybrid

Model: custom starfighter

Class: starfighter

Length: 9.2 meters

Maximum Acceleration: 13 MGLT per sec

MGLT: 115

Maximum Speed (atmosphere): 1,340 KM/H

Engines: SFS P-sx7.4 twin ion engines

Hyperdrive: SFS ND9 class 3.0 hyperdrive motivator

Power Plant: SFS I-s3a solar ionization reactor

Shielding: Novaldex deflector shields

Hull: reinforced durasteel alloy with titanium alloy armor

Navigation: SFS N-s6 Navcon

Avionics: SFS F-s5x flight avionics system

Armament: SFS L-s9.3 laser cannons (2), medium laser cannon (1), tractor beam (1), concussion missile launchers (2) with 20 missiles each, multipurpose projectile launchers (2) with either 20 concussion missiles, 15 proton torpedoes, 10 proton rockets, or 5 proton bombs each (standard mission load in Hades Wing is 40 missiles, 10 rockets and 5 bombs).

Crew: 1

Cargo Capacity: 110 kilograms

Consumables: 4 days

Roles: space superiority fighter, long range assault/strike fighter/bomber,

Eras: Rebellion era, New Republic era

Affiliation: Galactic Empire, Imperial Remnant, Hades Wing

When Hades Wing was ordered to turn over their Missile Boats as per Emperor Palpatine's orders they found themselves in need of a new craft that could act as the unit's principle bomber. Rather than turn to a hyperdrive equipped TIE Bomber variant or the Star Wing Assualt Gunboat, Chief Deck Officer Daru Kerrilia took it upon herself to strip down Hades' Missile Boats before turning them over. Using the hull of the TIE Advanced x1 and the TIE Avenger's engines, shields, and powerplant she fused the Missile Boat's missile and ordnance pods to the new starfighter and the TIE/DB was born. Affectionately dubbed the Diamond Blue by Hades in reference to the squadron that fielded it and the ship's blue skinned designer, Chief Kerrilia intended to call the craft the Deluxe Bomber but that title was never used.

The ship maintained and improved upon the firepower of the Missile Boat while decressing in overall size and improving protection. While the new design was slower than both the TIE Avenger and the Missile Boat, it was faster than the Advanced x1 and offered better protection than any of its parent designs. Armament consisted of twin laser cannons mounted beneath the cockpit, the x1's concussion missile launchers were replaced by the Missile Boat's medium laser cannon and beam weapon mounts. The Missile Boat's concussion missile launchers are mounted dorsally on the hull to the left and right of the cockpit while the ordnance launchers are mounted ventrally in the same configuration. Chief Kerrilia used hull plating from the Avenger to make all four launchers flush with the x1 frame and add armor to the rest of the hull which is what gives the design its durability.

Typical ordnance carried by Diamond Blues in service was comrpised of forty concussion missiles, ten proton rockets, and five proton bombs. The craft were capable of dogfighting but Hades Wing typically screened their DBs with their TIE Avengers and Defenders. The DB's usual tactic was to unleash a missile barrage at long range against opposing fighters, and then use the confusion caused by the attack to strike their main objective while the Avengers and Defenders dealt with the disoriented enemy. Because of their heavy armor plating the Diamond Blues were uniquely suited to the assault role. Even if their shields were lost, they were able to take multiple hits from capital grade weaponry. One such incident was recorded in which the Diamond Blue in question recorded three hits from a light turbolaser and still managed to deliver its ordnance and return to base. The secondary role of the DB was bombing of planetary targets, though it did not have an actual bomb chute. The craft was capable of making targeted strikes against ground targets and in the few planetary attacks that Hades conducted the craft's proficiency in this role was repeatedly proven.

Despite essentially being an 'Ugly' design, the TIE/DB was built by one of the best deck crews in the Imperial Fleet at the height of Imperial power and this is evident to the crews and pilots that work with the craft. All of its core components can be easily removed and replaced by equipment found in almost any hangar. Its maintenance accessibility is superb and its frame sits easily in the same cradles used for other Imperial fighter designs. Diamond Squadron pilots boast that their craft can go toe to toe with any other strike or assault starfighter and come out ontop despite its cobbled together beginnings. The only true issue with the Diamond Blue design was parts availability. Given that the Emperor had ordered all Missile Boat frames mothballed, it was difficult at best to acquire replacement parts to build new craft or replace damaged components that were Missile Boat based.

Because of this, many Diamond Blues built later in the wing's service use the multipurpose launchers of the Star Wing Assault Gunboat rather than the Missile Boat's launchers. Given the similarity between the two designs, this has not caused any major issues or hampered performance as warhead capacity remains the same between the two designs. Thankfully when Chief Kerrilia designed the craft she realized the pending scarcity of Missile Boat parts and so aside from the ordnance launchers, all other components can be found within the Imperial inventory or the black market. It was for this reason that the Missile Boat's SLAM booster was not included in the final design because parts for the accelerator would have been almost impossible to find despite the tactical ability that the rapid acceleration of the booster would have added to the hull.

Author's Note: Well since this is basically my baby (I can't believe I used that terminology) I decided to answer the random requests I've gotten for specifications on the Diamond Blue's design. I've also received the occasional question as to the fate of Hades Wing and any possible sequels. I will reiterate this: I am enlisting in the navy and am participating in various projects with other writers and artists at the moment so my ability to work on my own stuff (especially new stuff) is extremely limited. I left the story open ended for the readers' imagination to take flight and I encourage you to come up with your own theories and ideas about what Hades has done since the end of this story. Any possible sequel would take one of two forms, either focusing on Vic'que's actions after Hades' disappearance (shame on you if you thought she was dead). Or involves Hades' movements leading up to and involving Palpatine's return to the galactic stage, a third option of course would be a fusion of these two ideas. For those that are not satisfied by this answer, I am working on the publishable version of Hades Wing and provided that Lucas Arts plays nice you may see a new version of the story on bookstore shelves. If that happens I will of course let you know and no, I will not take down the original as the two stories will be (and already are) different in many ways.


End file.
